Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The Uses Of Containment Berms

By Estelle Larsen


By definition, a berm is a surface that is elevated in an area which becomes a sort of border between two places. It got its name from a German word berme which later on used in English. It has been used in quite a few names for equipment since then.

In some industries, there is a kind of berm that they utilize for safety measures. Containment berms are used mostly by oil and electrical companies. This is to prevent spill from transformer boxes in cases of malfunction or leakage in regards to the electrical companies. It is like a catch basin for the hazardous chemicals.

There are agencies that regulate and provide guidelines for these industries to follow in order to secure the safety of the environment in cases of incidents like spill or leakage. The Spill, Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA has these guidelines. Because of this, methods and equipment are developed in order to supply the needs of safety measures.

The outdated method is using concrete as the berm and surface of the area beneath the transformer, but new ways have been developed using different materials. Geotextile boom, which should not be confused with the other, absorbs the oil and solidifies it in order to prevent the flow.

Where a boom in concerned, it is quite different in structure with the berm. But let us describe first the berm. It traps the leak and acts as a mini pool to contain the liquid and preventing it from flowing further. It is placed under any source so in cases of possible leakage, it would catch the liquids right away. There are called secondary spill containment.

A portable berm is what most industries use because of how convenient they are. They can be moved around quite easily and are very versatile and flexible for use in containing spillage. It comes with either assembly or non assembly types. It is up to the agency and the company which kind they should go for depending on their guidelines or how they want to use them in terms of what they have as containers or sources.

Now for a boom, its structure is different as well and it may be more convenient depending on how it is used. It is also a secondary spill containment but instead of catching the liquid, what it does is absorb it. In the case of geotextile boom it solidifies it. These can be very useful when there is a need to just place it over or around the area.

A boom can also be used in oil spills on surfaces of water. It can be very useful when there is leak at seas since it can just be placed over to absorb them and let the water pass through. It has been utilized in most incidents so far in cleaning up. Although the boom comes in two types as well, so do not be confused. The containment and absorbent are different depending on the material they are made from.

Berms and booms, as mentioned, come in various types. So it is the responsibility of the company what kind should they use in order to fit the functionalities of their facilities and what kind of containers they are using. Also with how convenient they want it to be and in terms of versatility as well and durability. Guidelines from agencies would likely be provided for what secondary spill containment to use.




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