Meet an Oil Spill’s First Responder!

Catastrophes almost always strike unexpectedly; they may be natural, man-made, or the result of an earlier mishap. With a poor response time, huge losses and great expense can result. Being well-prepared and knowledgeable about oil spills by purchasing a vacuum truck for sale and their clean-up can help lessen the overall loss of both time and money.

Marshall Oil Pipe Leak

In 2010 near the Marshall, Michigan pump station, a 30-inch oil pipe began leaking. This pipeline delivers petroleum products to Griffith, Indiana from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The leak was estimated at approximately 843,444 gallons (20,082 barrels). Part of it actually leaked into nearby Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River; it amounted to approximately 337,386 gallons (8,033 barrels) of crude oil being emptied into those bodies of water.

The spill was prevented from reaching Morrow Lake by setting up containment booms on the river just above a hydroelectric dam. In addition, a number of vacuum trucks were deployed to suction the spilled petroleum out of the water. Although it was raining heavily most of that time and the flow in the creek was actually rushing quite hard, there were enough vacuum trucks to get the job done. It took approximately four months with a number of major contractors and sub-contractors working non-stop to suction the oil from the water and transport the mixture to nearby clean-up facilities that cleared and cleaned the water in order to once again flow in the affected creek and river.

First Responder Rescue

During the first few hours when the chief executive of one of the contracting companies saw the expansive amount of work to be done, equipment and workers were called in from six different areas across the country. The first oil spill responders were dozens of 3,000-gallon and 6,000-gallon vacuum trucks and loaders.

After pumping the waste from the creek and river, the vacuum trucks discharged the liquid that was collected into bulk tankers. These tankers do not have vacuum apparatus and usually have a capacity of 7,000 gallons. The mixture inside the bulk tankers was then transported to a tank farm, and from there was shipped to a treatment facility. The work was done continuously 24/7 on 12-hour shifts.

Preventing More Challenges

This catastrophic leak was closely tracked and monitored. For instance, during the cleanup process, the amount of water in the mixture was increasing beyond the acceptable percentage allowed at the treatment facility. So, the contractor was able to see the need for dewatering the mixture. By installing a length of clear tubing in the vacuum hose, as soon as the crew began to notice that oil was coming through, the valve was closed.

Vacuum trucks actually prevented more challenges by suctioning the water and skimming the petroleum waste. The skimmed substance was then consolidated into different tanks and transported to a treatment facility. Later, in order to improve efficiency and lessen the burden of the overworked equipment, the contractors built a header system. When pumping the water from a carbon treatment unit, the header system utilizes hundreds of feet of hose, clear tubes and valves.

This pipeline leak incidence is a perfect example of the usefulness of vacuum trucks from a vacuum truck for sale location. As the pipeline lost thousands of gallons of petroleum, its potential effects on the environment could have been unimaginable. Thanks to the first responders, the spread of contamination to soil and bodies of water was prevented. The emergency actions were quick and with the right equipment readily available, the tasks were timely accomplished. Vacuum trucks were indeed vital as first responders to the oil spill catastrophe!