Spill containment confines materials within a limited area to minimize environmental impact. Methods vary depending on the material and potential impact. Emergency equipment, such as inflatable containment units, can prevent oil from reaching the ground or water. Sophisticated methods, like computer technology, allow for quick and successful containment.
Spill containment is a process of confining materials within a limited area when some sort of spill or overfill has occurred. This type of containment is relatively common when dealing with sewage, chemicals or oils and is considered a safety measure that helps minimize the impact of the spill on the environment. A variety of methods are used in the spill containment process, depending on the nature of the material to be contained and the potential for that material to negatively impact the environment if it were allowed to enter groundwater or nearby rivers .
In some cases, spill containment arrangements are part of the ongoing processing of different types of materials. For example, a containment system may be an essential component in a municipality’s sewage system. In this case, containment areas are built into the system, which allow waste to continue to be treated even in the event of excessive rain that threatens to block the sewers and further stress the water treatment plants operating throughout the system. The overflow channels allow the sewage to be contained until it is transformed, rather than allowing the material to enter local water bodies or infiltrate the ground, events that would end up having a negative impact on the local ecological balance.
Emergency spill containment equipment is also common with the handling of many types of materials. For example, inflatable containment units can be quickly brought into position in the event of a tank or other storage device containing petroleum products rupture. Containment units provide a means of collecting product output from the ruptured tank, effectively preventing oil from contacting the ground or local bodies of water. In this scenario, the use of emergency spill containment units not only contributes to the protection of the environment, but also facilitates the management of product collection during the reclamation phase.
Over the years, the strategies used in spill containment have become increasingly sophisticated. Many of the methods used today do not require human intervention to initiate a containment effort. For example, a number of sewer systems are constantly monitored by computer technology programmed to respond when levels in the sewer pipes reach a certain level, allowing the containment process to begin even when the system alerts the people in charge of monitoring the overall operation. Thanks to these innovations, the ability to quickly and successfully contain railroad spills, oil spills and spills involving hazardous chemicals is greater than at any time in the past.
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