Oil Spill Blog

Any major oil spill causes great environmental damage. The oil spill that took place on the San Francisco Bay in 2007 resulted in spillage of 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel from the container ship Cosco Busan.

But what makes the San Francisco Oil Spill unusual, is the oil spill cleanup technique that was adopted. A group of volunteers cleaned San Francisco’s beaches using unconventional products, namely human hair and mushrooms.Though unconventional, it is an organic and eco-friendly way of cleaning up oil spills.

Hair is a natural absorbent that soaks oil very well. In the San Francisco Oil Spill, masses of matted hair the size of a doormat were used to soak up oil. (These mats are woven from human hair donated by salons.) After the visible effect in the San Francisco oil spill, others have also started using these for cleaning up oil spills.

You must be wondering where mushrooms come into the picture in this whole process. Oyster mushrooms have the power to convert toxic oil to compost. In the San Francisco oil spill, once the hair mats had soaked up the oil, oyster mushrooms were layered between these mats. In about 12 weeks, these mushrooms not only absorbed but turned these oil-soaked mats into non-toxic compost.

The success of using hair and mushrooms in the San Francisco oil spill cleanup calls for more such innovative, cost-effective, and eco-friendly techniques of cleaning oil spills. One such eco-friendly technique that has proved to be effective in oil spill cleanup is bioremediation technology.

Oil Gone Easy S-200 is an oil stain remover that makes use of bioremediation technology. Instead of toxic chemicals, microorganisms present in the atmosphere are used to degrade the harmful hydrocarbons present in the oil. Thus, this eco-friendly product cleans oil stains without causing any harm to the environment.

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Causes of oil pollution are many. They can range from minor spills from recreational boats to serious oil spills from commercial vessels. Whatever the cause, it leads to serious marine pollution.

Large oil spills come to notice very quickly. Marine pollution authorities therefore respond quickly to clean them up. But minor oil spills that result from pumping oily bilge water overboard or from careless refueling go unnoticed even though they are a major cause of marine pollution, which harms the marine environment.

Several steps have been taken to prevent marine pollution, including laws such as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. According to these acts, the discharge of any kind of oil in the navigable water of the United States that causes a film, sheen, discoloration, sludge, or emulsion on or beneath the surface of water is strictly prohibited and can result in stiff civic penalties.

To avoid these penalties and to prevent further oil pollution here are some preventive measures that will help in keeping the discharged bilge water clean.

• The engine of the boat should be maintained properly to avoid fuel or oil leaks. Oil filters should also be changed often.

• Floating oil, if any, should be soaked up with a sorbent material before pumping the bilge. An absorbent pad or a drip tray should also be kept under the engine.

• During bilge cleaning do not mix detergents with oily bilge water as they can prove even more toxic than the oil. Instead, use a biodegradable bilge cleaner like Oil Gone Easy Marine S-200. This bilge cleaner is environmentally friendly and will not cause marine pollution.

Following these simple preventive measures will not only result in clean bilges but will also result in a green earth.

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What is environmental remediation

Environmental remediation is the process of environmental cleanup that restores a polluted or contaminated site to a state that is not harmful for human beings and other living organisms. In most cases, it involves media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Before deciding on the technology, a complete environmental assessment of the contaminated site has to be done to decide the approach towards the restoration.

Remediation technologies

Remediation solutions that are adopted for an environmental cleanup can be broadly categorized into ex-situ and in-situ methods. While the affected soils are excavated and the surface then treated using ex-situ methods, the contamination is treated without removing the soils by means of in-situ methods.

Excavation or dredging – In this process, the contaminated soil is dug up and transported to regulated dump sites. But, if the bottom of a river or bay gets contaminated, dredging is employed for environmental remediation.

Surfactant Enhanced Aquifer Remediation (SEAR) – Special surfactants or hydrocarbon mitigation agents are injected into the subsurface to reduce desorption, which in turn speeds up the recovery process.

Pump and treat – The contaminated groundwater is pumped out and then treated for contamination through a series of vessels.

Solidification and stabilization – In stabilization, different kinds of reagents are added to the contaminated material to make it more stable chemically whereas, in solidification, the reagents are added to make it physically or dimensionally stable and limit the access to external agents like rain and air.

In-situ oxidation – This method involves injection of strong oxidants into contaminated soil and groundwater resources for environmental remediation.

In-situ vitrification – Contaminants and the surrounding soil are melted here using electricity and then cooled to form glass.

Bioremediation – It is defined as the process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to return the environment polluted by contaminants to its original condition. It is an eco-friendly approach towards remediation and uses products such as Oil Gone Easy Marine S-200 while dealing with oil spill cleanups.

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Boating is not only a means of transportation, but also a recreational activity for many. It is the responsibility of each boater to keep our waters free from pollutants like oil, fuel, sewage, trash, toxic cleaning and maintenance products, and bottom paints. The best way to do this is to switch to green boating.

Here are a few steps that boaters can follow for clean boating and marine environmental protection:

• Prevent oily discharge: This is the most important step in any green boating program. Prevent fuel or oil from leaking into the water by keeping your engine well tuned. Have oil absorbent pads or pillows in places where drips may occur. While filling the tank, do it slowly and only fill to around 90% of the tank capacity to prevent the fuel from overflowing. Utilize oil change pumps for transferring oil to a spill-proof container.

• Never use soap: In case of fuel or oil spills, do not use soap to clean them. It causes a lot of damage to the environment and is also illegal to dump oily water overboard.

• Use green products: Use green products for bilge cleaning, like Marine S-200 bilge cleaner from Oil Gone Easy. Using green products will help you protect the environment.

• Contain and recycle waste: Don’t throw trash overboard. Also, avoid plastic products or products with plastic packaging; opt for reusable containers instead. Use a hazardous waste collection facility to dispose other harmful waste products, like paint, batteries, or oil filters, and recycle plastic, glass, metal, and paper.

• Maintain your vessel: Clean your work area regularly. Use tarps and vacuum sanders to contain all debris. Besides keeping the engine well tuned, repair oil and fuel leaks promptly. By doing so, you will not only minimize pollution, but will also save money on fuel.

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