Rail Yard Oil Spills – Not Something to be Ignored!
Rail yard oil spill is one among the many issues that is often overlooked. What many fail to realize is that oil spills in rail yards are hazardous both to the environment and human health. By the time people realize the seriousness of the issue, it may just be too late as these oil spills would have already taken its toll.
One best example is the East Deerfield Rail Yard that has witnessed quite a lot of contaminations over the years. This oil contamination is a consolidation of spills due to various rail yard operations at the former locomotive fueling island, petroleum-contaminated soil, and an underground fuel tank leakage. So, to clean up these spills, Pan Am Railways hired a consulting firm – Environmental Resources Management (ERM) for investigating the East Deerfield rail yard oil spills. On April 13, 2011, this firm submitted a draft of the plan.
The plan targets four contaminated areas, three oil-contaminated soil areas, and an area that is contaminated by chlorinated solvents. According to ERM’s investigation, excavating the oil-contaminated soil will be the prime action plan. The plan also states that the time that will be taken for this excavation process will depend upon the depth of contamination.
As part of the plan, a vacuum system will be employed to remove the solvents. The work of this vacuum system is to remove vapors from the soil and filter them effectively. Serious monitoring will be commenced in all sites to ensure that the contamination level drops to a minimum. Finally, a review will be conducted by the State Department of Environmental Protection to check if the contamination drop has reached the acceptable levels.
What seems to be the biggest challenge with rail yard oil spills is the treatment of oil-contaminated soil. But, with green oil spill removers like Oil Gone Easy S-200, cleaning oil spills from soil will be easier than imagined.
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