Above: Rapid response is vital to fuel spills, with local and remote actuation of pipe stoppers acting to stop the problem spreading into the surrounding environment
The cleanup costs and lost production time caused by fuel spills can be just the start of the headaches suffered by companies operating truck workshops, warehouses, loading docks, factories and manufacturing, mining, and marine stores.
Far bigger bills and liability arrive if the diesel, petrol, or chemicals enter drains feeding into waterways, flood waters, and groundwater sources, when such incidents cease to be solely an individual company concern, but become a reportable incident attracting the attention of environmental and water protection agencies throughout Australia.
“Owing to the oily, viscous properties of fuel, accidental spills can quickly travel through work areas and threaten the safety of workers. The same fuel can also quickly spill into the outdoors or enter drainage or sewer systems, which can lead to the contamination of soil and water, as well as the poisoning of farm animals, aquatic animals or wildlife. Such occurrences are taken very seriously by statutory authorities, and involve major costs and sanctions,” says elastomer liquid handling specialist Vinh Lam.
Preventing environmental contamination
The accidental release of fuel must be managed in such a way that prevents contamination of the natural environment, he says. Organisations must have spill containment plans in place that effectively stop the leak or spill from spreading throughout the workplace, as well as prohibiting the substance from entering soil, waterways, drains or sewers. Due to the threat of environmental contamination, it is wise to ensure drains, sewers or stormwater systems are plugged or covered, so that oil can’t contaminate the outside environment.
“If your spill is too large or dangerous for your staff to clean-up, you must immediately notify emergency services and action your Incident Management Plan. It is also your responsibility to notify Workplace Health and Safety of any hazardous incidents in your organisation,” says Vinh, who is the Pronal technology specialist for the product range’s exclusive Australasian distributor, Air Springs supply Pty Ltd.
Environmentally cost-effective Pronal pipe stoppers from Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd are custom engineered to help operators of logistics and transport workshops and distribution centres and stores protect against spills and runoff of potentially hazardous or harmful liquids from their operations.
These inflatable elastomer protective devices – part of a range used globally by civil and military emergency response agencies worldwide – are used for rapid and effective blockage of such spills into pipeline systems from which they might enter environmentally sensitive watersheds surrounding businesses, particularly urban centres, and farming land.
“Pollution or cross-contamination of water supplies has become a much bigger issue in recent times as, increasingly, urban and rural areas overlap with population growth. This is placing pressure on business to ensure that it demonstrates community awareness of shared water resources by ensuring it has anti-pollution planning in place,” says Vinh.
Globally proven pipe stoppers
Pronal plugs from Air Springs Supply are used in Australia and globally for maintenance and emergency tasks in industrial and municipal water and wastewater, as well as for pollution prevention in projects where sealing and testing operations need to be conducted not only with complete safety and environmental security, but also with considerable speed, to maintain flows of liquids and gases.
“The stoppers can be rapidly deployed, easily transported and widely applied in remote, temporary, and permanent industrial situations. They are suitable for all types of pipelines including concrete, cast iron, steel, stainless steel and PVC. Stock types and sizes fit pipelines up to 2115mm metres inside diameter and custom-produced models over 3000mm,” says Vinh Lam.
“One type of stopper in the Pronal range is unique in that it can be permanently installed uninflated, where it can be remotely inflated in sensitive environments where an immediate response is required,” he adds.
“They are extremely strong and durable in service, being hot vulcanised in a mould to give outstanding service life. The enormously strong stoppers are the result of the global experience of elastomer products specialists Pronal, the company that produced the inflatable bags used to lift sections of the liner Titanic from nearly four kilometres underwater in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Pipelines are a particularly important component of risk management plans where food, business, and agribusiness companies may be handling increased quantities and types of hazardous materials associated with production and process engineering, cleaning, vehicle maintenance, and plant upkeep, for example, says Vinh.
The common factor with maintenance, testing and emergency situations is that they need stoppers that can be rapidly and securely deployed to provide primary or secondary safety and environmental security as required by both Safe Work Australia and State Environmental Protection Agencies.
The material used in the stoppers and the production method (customised dilatability) means they are extremely versatile. External surfaces are also customised to particular needs, such as exposure to gas or petroleum products or where long term installation is required. Naturally (as with any rubber-based product) direct or prolonged exposure to petroleum-based products is not recommended, but even so they have strong emergency use applications in such industries, where speed of deployment is vital.