Diesel oil is a major driver of global economy but its contribution to environmental pollution cannot be ignored. What are the major causes of diesel oil spill? Is diesel oil spill preventable? In this article, we will be looking at the many causes of diesel spillage as well as basic precautionary measures that we can employ to curb pollution.
Causes of Diesel Oil Spill
There are several causes of diesel oil spill and these are but not limited to natural disasters, equipment breakdown, human errors, deliberate vandalism and indiscriminate disposal. Also, inappropriate equipment handling as well as negligence are all critical factors that have been linked to diesel oil spillage over time.
Natural Disasters: A storm or hurricane can hit an oil producing platform or vessel thereby causing major spill into the ocean. This type of disaster is usually beyond what anyone or country can control and that makes such inevitable.
Equipment Breakdown: When vessels develop problems on the high sea, engineers would need to work on them and this in most cases results in minor spill. Spillage may also occur while fixing a problem arising from equipment breakdown on land.
Human Errors: Careless handling of Diesel equipment will inevitably result in diesel oil spill. For instance, if you hire incompetent personnel to carry out ship-to-ship transfer, the likelihood of spillage occurrence is very high. Also, spillage may occur if you make use of fake equipment when handling diesel oil.
Indiscriminate Disposal: Indiscriminate discharge of diesel oil or used diesel engine oil into waterways or empty lands is another form of spillage. Doing that will not only hurt humans but animals and some aquatic beings.
Deliberate Vandalism: You may choose to use the best equipment and employ the best security measure, that may still not deter vandals from carrying out their evil acts. Some host communities are hostile and the only thing that comes to their mind whenever they feel grieved is to vandalize your pipes.
Improper Storage Maintenance: Diesel oil may spill if you don’t take proper care of diesel storage tanks. Check to know if your tanks are leaking and make sure you cover them appropriately.
How To Prevent Diesel Oil Spill
We can prevent diesel oil spill using any of the following ways such as appropriate disposal of used oil, making use of qualified professionals to handle tanker-to-tanker diesel transfer. Also, periodical check on storage tanks for possible leakage is essential even as you don’t forget to seal your tanks at all times.
Periodic Storage Tank Inspection: Be sure to inspect your storage tank periodically so as to detect leakage on time.
Provision of Spill Control Equipment: You need to keep your spill control equipment readily available and accessible for use whenever spillage occurs.
Proper Disposal of Absorbent Materials. You need to avoid inappropriate disposal of absorbents or used oil to avoid oil spill. To do this, properly dispose them as required by the authority.
Use of Automatic Nozzle Shutoffs: This is a very essential kit with which you can prevent overfilling fuel tanks and invariably spilling diesel.
Professional Handling of Diesel Oil Transfers: One of other way to prevent diesel spillage is to engage professionals to handle ship-to-ship oil transfer. This is very important because inappropriate handling of transfer equipment may lead to major pollution.
Recycling of Used Oil and Absorbents: Be sure to recycle your used oil and absorbents. Check out this article on the many advantages of recycling used diesel engine oil for better understanding.
the end goal is to be sure we don’t pollute our environment and subsequently endanger humans, animals and plants.