Emergency Spill Response Equipment

Description

Oil spills resulting from marina related activities pose a real threat to coastal environments and can impose considerable financial liabilities upon individual marina owners and operators. Recognizing this, the ability to quickly contain and absorb such spills then becomes crucial in mitigating these potential negative impacts. In order to contain and absorb such spills, a certain amount of specialized equipment is recommended to be kept on-site. At a minimum this equipment should include: a sufficient length of boom (approximately three feet of boom to every foot of the largest vessel serviced) capable of containing spills and a sufficient quantity of materials capable of absorbing oil in a liquid environment (Amaral, Lee and Rhodes).

Implementation

In this instance the spill response equipment decided upon was the Oil Dri 95 Gallon Oil Only Spill Kit (# 90943). Containing 130' of boom, 60 smart pads, 10 disposal bags, and an emergency response guidebook, this kit has the ability to absorb 164 gallons of fuel. For your local Oil Dri Distributor call 1-800-Oil Drip.

Once acquired the emergency spill response kit was permanently installed at the marina's fuel dock. After considerable consideration the marina manager decided to leave the storage container unlocked so that the equipment could be accessed at all times by the marina's tenants. In order to raise awareness of the above equipment a sign detailing the basics of oil spill response was created and posted at the fuel dock (see Appendix H for the sign's exact language). Evaluation was accomplished by keeping track of the number of products actually used. In addition, any used products were to be collected and drained to determine the amount of oil which had been prevented from entering the open environment. In the event that a large spill occurs the response kit was to be evaluated as to its effectiveness at containing the spill.

Evaluation

Cost: $496.00

Pollutants Collected: No instances arose at the participating marina where the deployment of the emergency spill response equipment was warranted. Therefore no actual volumes could be collected or measured.

Cost Effectiveness: Although the equipment was never actually used by the participating marina, it is felt that this kit is fully capable of absorbing the 164 gallons of oil that the manufacturer claims. Assuming that this is true, when compared with the high costs associated with having a private company respond to a 100 gallon oil spill one can see that the purchase cost of an emergency spill response kit of this caliber is well worth the initial investment.

Lessons Learned/Recommendations

• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Look at your marina with a critical eye. Try to identify and correct potential spill sources before they occur.
• If the cost for the purchase of a complete emergency spill response kit seems to high, consider buying booms and absorbents separately and constructing a storage container on your own.
• Equipment does not necessarily have to be purchased all at once. Small sections of boom and bales of absorbents can be purchased individually over time.
• Spill response equipment is not helpfull if it is locked up during a spill where people can not access it. Therefore; before deciding on the locking of the storage container, experiment with leaving it open so that tenants can access the equipment at any time.
• Consider leaving the storage container unlocked just on weekends and holidays when there is more activity and therefore more potential for spills.
• Both staff and tenants need to be educated on the use and disposal of emergency spill response equipment. Use signs, educational literature and perhaps workshops to instruct them on the proper use of the equipment.
• Develop and maintain a spill response plan.

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