Oil spill equipment gives us the ability to manage accidents and disasters with one of our most precious resources while protecting water, another of our most precious resources. Supplies for containing oil spills, along with other environmental protection technologies, are in higher demand due to shifts in global thinking on environmental protection.

The main types of oil spill equipment used in containment and recovery are:

1. Absorbents—the easiest to use of all oil spill equipment. This type comes in granules like rock salt or ice or pads that absorb oil.

2. Skimmers—oil spill recovery equipment that can “skim” oil from the surface of water.

3. Booms—oil spill response equipment with long, floating barriers that trap oil in one specific area to prevent further contamination.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Stock up on absorbents as an oil spill solution to minor accidents around the machine shop

Not every oil spill is a disaster, but you do need to manage every oil spill correctly and dispose of the oil properly. Garages and shops experience minor oil spills on a daily basis. Failure to follow rules and regulations on oil spills is illegal, for both businesses and residents. If you work with oil, plan to have the minimum equipment for containing oil spills.

I recommend: Mat pads like those sold by New Pig Corporation and granular oil absorbents like SpeediKleen made by Complete Environmental Products, Inc. allow you to contain oil spills.

Use solutions for oil spills like oil skimmers

Slow leaks or minor spills in calm waters can be managed by oil skimmers and a few environmental clean-up specialists. The skimmer generally works with a fine mesh that traps the oil while allowing clean water to pass through.

I recommend: Megator Corp. makes the Megator Rope mop oil skimmer that actually mops the oil off the surface of the water. Contact Separation Dynamics about Skimzoil, an oil skimmer that functions as an oil pollution solution by cleaning and recycling the water it processes.

Use oil containment booms to block large spills from spreading further across the water

Booms are the best way to contain or divert a very large spill quickly, though smaller booms do just as well on more minute spills. Advancements in environmental technology allow booms to be one of the most reliable means of preventing oil spills from doing major damage to the area.

I recommend: Giant booms like the Super Max by Elastec/American Marine contain major oil spills on large bodies of water. The Mk RB Fast Water Oil Boom by SlickBar Products Corporation works best on beaches, rivers and canals.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If oil spill containment equipment plays a significant part in your business workday, you may want to invest in oil spill equipment that completes the recovery process. Adding a storage tank and an oil-water separator to your inventory gives you more solutions for oil spills and managing the results.