Page 36: of Marine News Magazine (April 2014)

POLLUTION RESPONSE & PREVENTIONThe threat of oil pollution has long been a problem in the shipping community. You don?t have to look too far to review the myriad of oil spills that have plagued the industry. The Exxon Valdez spill that occurred 25 years ago has recently come to the forefront once again as there is evidence that the rami cations of the spill are still being felt in the fragile eco-system of several Alaska beaches. Today?s oil spill response industry has certainly been moving with the times by introducing more and more advanced technologies to contain spills when they occur but even the tried and true method of using skim- mers and booms can only do so much.Conventional Wisdom Skimmers skim oil off the top of the surface; yet the oily mess has to be stored elsewhere and/or then transported to be disposed of. Booms help contain oil to stop it expand- ing in the affected area, but tools are still needed to pick up the oil that has to be once again treated at another lo- cation. ?Diapers? or absorbent pads are also typically used in oil spill situations but then the matter of disposal ? the logistics and the cost ? has to again be faced.The big oil spills are only part of the picture. Everyday spills aboard all manner of ships as well as land-based ma- rine facilities also occur more often than you might think. Oil and harmful contaminants seep into bilges and are run out through the waste stream and into the ocean or into soil. Galley hoods, surfaces and  oors harbor bacteria that can get into food. The  oors can also become very slippery as a result, which can cause a host of any number of slip- and-fall accidents. In marine facilities, storm water runoff is a huge concern around soil contamination. A standard cleaner-degreaser product will only semi-clean the area but again, do noth- ing to break down the hydrocarbons in the waste stream. It?s like putting a Band-Aid on a big open gash. And, then, there are the collection tanks. Often, hydrocarbons are bled out through a pump but then have to be moved offsite in order to be treated ? another time-consuming, costly endeavor. Bioremediation While the shipping industry is going greener it is also trying to cut costs. So treating hydrocarbons in situ is de -nitely something to look into. There is where using the right kind of bioremediation products come in. The pro- cess of bioremediation is nature?s way of solving contami- nation problems at the root of the cause. Tiny micro-or- ganisms literally ?eat? away at hydrocarbons, transforming them into a non-toxic combination of carbon dioxide and water, leaving surfaces like asphalt and workshop  oors skid-free, countertops and  oors shiny and clean, and hy- draulic equipment looking like new. This natural process then produces valuable bio-nutri- ents that can be utilized by both plant and aquatic life. Essentially, this means that wherever and whenever a spill occurs, you can treat it safely and effectively, with the con-  dence that it will not harm the environment or your em- ployees. Preventative maintenance is the key to overall reduction of toxic compounds in the industrial environment. That?s where bioremediation products really prove their worth. When used in a regular maintenance program, the mi- crobes will continually ?eat? hydrocarbons, keeping work areas clean and free of residues. SpeciÞ c Solutions EnviroLogic Biobased Technologies Inc, located in Philadelphia, has been developing industry-speci c EPA- approved bioremediation products for over 20 years. One major result of their efforts is an honest claim they make that not one of their products has ever been returned for lack of performance. The product line includes over 30 so- lutions for the marine, aviation and food industries. When the U.S. Navy?s Military Sealift Command (MSC) needed to solve the problem of dealing with harmful hydrocarbons in their ship bilges and holding tanks, they turned to Envi- roLogic. The end result was a product called NavalKleen ? a highly-concentrated, active mixture of hydrocarbon-oxi- dizing, naturally-occurring, single-celled micro-organisms with a ?bio-surface cleaning agent? and water. Bioremediation Goes Mainstream A reliable solution for response and prevention that can save money, time and regulatory aggravation is here. By John Paparone April 201436 MNMN April14 Layout 32-49.indd 36MN April14 Layout 32-49.indd 363/20/2014 11:52:50 AM3/20/2014 11:52:50 AM