Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Using Secondary Containment Systems To Protect Life And Health

By Karyn Shields


Chemicals and other dangerous substances, such gas, oil and solvents of many formulations are necessary for life as everyone knows it. They are also dangerous to people, in certain concentrations and to the environment. Transporting these substances or even storing them might cause a spill and something had to be invented to prevent this from damaging anything. Secondary containment systems are the answer as they help contain any spills in various ways.

When looking into designing a secondary protection, such as these, a few considerations are in order. The material must be of a nature that will not become deteriorated due to any reaction from the substance being held. If the substance will eat or break through a particular material, it is not a good idea to use it. Assumptions about what should work will have to give way to testing it to see if it will do the job.

An example of a true containment is found in your own home. When you are removing the trash from your kitchen, you may often place the full bag inside of another liner to ensure nothing falls out. This is so you will not have to sweep and mop it all over again. This is a good example and brings the message home, as it were.

Protecting your home from trash was an easy example to deal with. Industrial storage and the transportation of substances are more complicated. This is because of additional considerations. The choice or need use rigid versus flexible containers will make a big difference in the type of materials and what can be done with each type.

A couple of these substances you hear about all of the time are the transport of gasoline and oil by truck or rail. The rigid primary tank for the transport for either one of these can tear or become punctured for many reasons, not the least common of which would be an accident. This has caused many gallons or barrels of environmentally unsafe material to be spilled out and endanger others due to the chance of fire or other accidents happening around them.

That bladder is made from a material that will not react with the substance. Whether oil or gas, there is no problems because of that. This saves the environment and prevents anyone close by to get drenched by something they really do not want on them for a host of reasons.

The rigid fabrications can be illustrated with retaining walls that are erected around a pallet holding large tank of chemicals. This will ensure that any leaks that occur, for whatever reason, will not get past this cement barrier to contaminate any other areas or people. In some industries and for smaller containers, this might simply be a curb that will still see chemicals not escaping this small space. There will be a small amount of cleaning and decontamination, but not the same as if there were no barriers.

Environmental Protection agency as well as Food and Drug, both have regulations that mandate these types of redundant protections against damages occurring from dangerous substances getting loose. These regulations require very exacting clean ups and reports as well as a certified inspection, usually by them, of the area before it can be released for further use.




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