Thursday, May 1, 2014

What Are Spill Containment Berms

What Are Spill Containment Berms

By Tracie Knight


Lately anywhere around the world there will be some form of oil spill at sea or even in land. Now and again you will hear of a tragic ferry or maritime disaster that has some form of oil or liquid pollution involved. When this happens, spill containment berms are used to contain the spill, in cases spanning several miles.

Berms are nothing new to the world. They have been used as far back in the past when man was able to do construction and farm. Most notable use of these berms have been recorded as being used by earl American Indians wherein they used it to contain run off from fields during irrigation and harvesting. Likewise, some medieval fortifications to date show existence of berms as some form of embankment as support for more complex constructions.

Due to the many different kinds of spills and such nowadays, there are specialized berms for each and every type of spills. Spills can be categorized in terms of viscosity and toxicity, and thus there will be a suitable or adaptable containment design for each of these types of spills. The most common one would probably see are big non porous sheets of a material either in rectangular or square form with the necessary raised embankments on the four sides.

If you have seen a kiddie pool you will get a basic idea of what a common berm looks like in terms of controlling spills. Think of a kiddie pool with very shallow sides with some sort of flooring and you will get the idea. This kind of design with shallow sides are most commonly used in containing leaks and spillage for trucks during discharging operations. Since they are to be used on the road and under vehicles, they are very durable and impact resistant.

As for the walling of these units, these are usually made of a special foam that has no memory capabilities. This means that it goes back to its original form once pressure is released. This is much needed for it to go back to its original form as soon as after a vehicle runs over it.

The square and rectangular shaped ones are the most common, and mostly used for incidents that occur on flat areas and the like. However, spillage and such do not occur on flat surfaces alone, and can occur in areas that have uneven surfaces and also areas that are very rough. In this case there are designs wherein these kinds of terrains can be accommodated and handled. These designs are very flexible and customizable in terms of retaining wall connections and shapes.

Higher specialty designs have better liquid tight construction and also better adapted to uneven and rough surfaces such as will be found in gravel rich surfaces and rocky areas. They are extremely durable and rough terrain do not easily crack them or put small pinholes. Likewise, most of these containment units are bio degradable and can be thrown away efficiently once used.

When looking for people or companies selling these, they are usually listed under spill control supplies or emergency control supplies. It is just a matter of surfing through the internet to get to a supplier near you, or if you lack connectivity, you can always use the age old Yellow Pages.




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