Oil spills on highways; most of us would never have given a second thought to them. But, once you just get a glimpse of their damaging effects, the impact will remain in your minds for a long time. In case of an oil spill on highways, not only are the people who live and drive in the nearby area exposed, but also the ocean’s, which may seem many miles away, are affected.

Here are some of the major impacts of oil spills that occur on highways:

• Highways are probably one area that is filled with a variety of toxic chemicals, including fuel and brake fluids. But how many of us are aware that the fuel spilt as a result of accidents and leaks from vehicles, reaches the nearby rivers and drains, when it rains? As estimated, the amount of oil leaked from highway runoff from a single large city is almost equal to that resulting from a tanker spill.

• Oil spill on a highway has one more profound impact; it makes the driving surface extremely slippery. The conditions get even worse when it rains, especially in areas with lower rainfall. It’s because of the fact that in such areas oil leaks from cars accumulate over long periods making the roads more slippery when it eventually rains.

• Well, this is not the end! Spills on highway can also affect public health. Apart from causing irritation to human skin, exposure to oil can increase the susceptibility to cancer. Also, since the runoff from highways contaminates the oceans, even marine life is affected and eventually the people who consume contaminated marine food.

Having gotten a fair idea about the effects of small or large oil spills on highways, you’ll no longer wonder about the importance of immediate oil spill containment. So, if you happen to come across an oil spill, then immediate response using eco-friendly oil spill cleaners, such as Oil Gone Easy S-200 may prove fruitful.

People associated with commercial facilities, such as garages, marinas, refineries, or construction sites will definitely accept the fact that cleaning up the facilities of the dirt, grime, and oil accumulated can be very daunting. Hence, most of them tend to make use of strong chemical cleaning agents to maintain the commercial spaces.

But very few realize the ill-effects associated with such abrasive cleaning products. Not only are these harsh commercial cleaning products cleaning agents extremely harmful to the environment, but they pose significant health risks, such as eye, skin and respiratory irritation and may also cause allergic reactions as well.

The impact of these harsh commercial cleaning products on the cleaning personnel is also greater. Since they are exposed to toxic chemicals for a longer time, they are more prone to serious chronic illnesses, including cancer, neurological, or even reproductive disorders.

One solution that ensures effective cleaning without any side-effects is the use of green cleaning products. In the attempt to “Go Green,” most industries just think of practices, such as recycling or minimizing the use of electricity. The idea of using green cleaners over toxic commercial cleaning products strikes only a few. This small change of practice will in fact make a large difference.

For instance, for cleaning up oil spills in a refinery, a gas station, or a rail yard where the contamination from oil spills is large, it would be a great idea to incorporate an effective eco-friendly oil spill cleaner, such Oil Gone Easy S-200. This product works using the EPA certified bioremediation technology, which breaks down the oil and converts it into water and carbon dioxide. Hence it is perfectly safe on the environment and humans as well.

Hence, commercial cleaning could be achieved even better with the use of green cleaning products.

Oil spills not only affect environmentally but also economically. The economic impacts are directly or indirectly related to the environmental impacts of oil spills. But, the economic impacts of oil spills are not much talked about as the environmental impacts are.

The most direct economic impact of oil spills is the loss of oil. The losses incurred depend on the size of the spill; the bigger the spill, the higher the economic impact. Oil spill cleanup costs too increase with the size of the spill.

Most of the people along coastal areas depend on tourism for income. The restrictions imposed on recreational activities, such as diving, bathing, and boating in the polluted area affect tourism. As a result, they suffer huge economic losses. Until and unless oil spill cleanup is done, these continue to suffer.

Fishing industry is another prominent sector that bears the brunt of oil spills. Contamination or death of commercial marine animals and plants result in economic loss for the fishermen. Oil spill cleanup actions usually take a very long time. The fishing and shellfish area are closed during these periods. This interrupts the fishing activities, resulting in further loss to the fishermen. Fishing boats and equipment get damaged when they come in contact with the spilled oil.

Industries like hydroelectric power plants, desalination plants, and nuclear central stations depend on seawater for their operations. The whole operation of the large scale industries is affected if the spilled oil is mixed in the water being used by them.

With such obvious economic impacts, it is our responsibility to protect our environment from such disasters. Preventing oil spills and using environmentally-friendly oil spill cleaners, such as Oil Gone Easy S-200 rather than other toxic products will help a great deal in minimizing the impact of an oil spill.

Oil spills at home can be classified into a seep or a leak. A slow seepage of oil that doesn’t produce a drip is called a seep. This kind of oil spill is usually not visible on the pavement as a spill.

On the other hand, when oil drips from vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and lawn mowers resulting in a puddle of oil, it is called a leak. A leak not only happens when the vehicle is parked, but also when it is on the move. It can be pretty dangerous as it not only damages the engine of the vehicle internally but is also harmful to the environment. So a leak needs to be looked into promptly.

Reasons for oil spills from vehicles are plenty. Some common causes include structural design problems, poor quality of products and accessories used, and wear-off of sealing materials due to long-term use. Another major cause of oil spills at home are domestic oil tanks. These oil spills result in the contamination of ground water and also pose serious health hazards.

So we should take steps not only to prevent an oil spill from occurring, but also be prepared to handle if an oil spill occurs. For driveway oil spills or any other oil spill at home, adopt environmentally-friendly oil spill cleanup techniques to avoid causing further harm to the environment.

When it comes to oil spill cleanup, granular absorbents such as kitty litter, solvents, and toxic cleaners are usually used in the United States. All these oil spill cleanup techniques are environmentally hazardous as they don’t biodegrade the oil. The only eco-friendly oil spill cleanup technique that completely biodegrades oil without causing any further harm is bioremediation. So make sure you use oil spill cleaners that utilize this green technology.