360 likes | 735 Views
The ROC Barrier™. First line of defense. Introduction. Impact of oil spills Research and development A breakthrough in rapid response How it works Economic and environmental benefits Distribution Call to action. Water – our most vital resource.
E N D
The ROC Barrier™ First line of defense
Introduction • Impact of oil spills • Research and development • A breakthrough in rapid response • How it works • Economic and environmental benefits • Distribution • Call to action
Water – our most vital resource • Clean, safe water is vital for our health and well-being; yet without the critical resources to prevent the disastrous ecological effects of oil spills, our water supply is at great risk. • Water covers 75 per cent of the world’s surface, but only 2.5 per cent of that is freshwater lakes, rivers and underground aquifers.1 • Most of the world’s freshwater is not accessible. Two-thirds is found in ice in the form of glaciers and ice caps. One- third is deep underground.2 • Less than 1 per cent of the world’s surface or below-ground freshwater is accessible for human use.3 1,2,3http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/deadinthewater/stats.html
Oil spills in the 21st century • Oil spills occur daily around the world, often with devastating environmental and economic consequences. • A recent study at Memorial University of Newfoundland estimated that every year more than 300,000 seabirds are killed off the south coast of Newfoundland alone by oil illegally dumped by ships to save the cost of pumping it ashore. • The economic costs of oil spills are staggering. Over $10 billion dollars is being spent annually worldwide to clean up oil spills, according to data published by D.S. Etkin.4 4D.S. Etkin;http://www.environmentalresearch.com/erc_papers/ERC_paper_2.pdf
Oil spills in the 21st century • The effects of oil spills are immediate and long-term. • Oil spills contaminate our water supply from freshwater lakes; close beaches; and destroy helpless marine life and coastal wetlands. • They can significantly impact our health from inhaling a spill’s vapours to eating contaminated seafood. An Alaskan marine biologist examines oil left behind from the Exxon Valdez spill 15 years later.
Oil spills in the 21st century • Over 700 million gallons of waste oil enter the ocean each year as a result of oil spills from tankers, ships, barges and other vessels, pipelines, storage tanks, facilities and other land sources in North America and around the world.5 • According to Environment Canada, 12 oil spills of over 4,000 litres are reported each day (one of which is in navigable waters). • In the United States, it’s estimated that one spill of greater than 100,000 gallons occurs every month from oil storage facilities and the entire transportation network.6 5Water Encyclopedia; www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Oil-Spills-Impact-on-the-Ocean.html 6Reuters, United Nations Environment Programme, www.unep.org; International Tanker Owners Pollution
Global oil spill “hot spots” • Analysts for the Oil Spill Intelligence Report, have identified the following “hot spots” for oil spills from vessels around the world. • These numbers indicate spills over 10,000 gallons (34 tonnes) which have occurred since 1960.
Disastrous coastal and inland oil spills • Coastal areas in the U.S. have seen some of the largest and most devastating oil spills in history. • Exxon Valdez (1989) • Gulf of Mexico, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (2005) • San Francisco (2007) • In recent years, oil spills of over 100,000 gallons on U.S. rivers and lakes include: • Mississippi River (2000) • Patuxent River, southern Maryland (2000) • Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline (2001)
Causes of oil spills • Human error and mother nature are responsible for oil spills on our water and in land. • Since the world relies so heavily on the production of petroleum oil, there are many causes of spills including: • Accidents; • Equipment malfunction; • Natural disasters; and • Deliberate and illegal dumping of oil into the water.
Causes of oil spills • Pipelines, oil rigs and storage tanks are responsible for more than two-thirds of oil spilled in the water or on land. • Accidental spills from ships account for 15 per cent of the oil making its way into the ocean each year. • Most spills from tankers are a result of routine operations such as loading, discharging and bunkering which normally occur in ports or at oil terminals. • The majority of these operational spills are small, with some 91 per cent involving quantities of less than 7 tonnes; • Accidental causes such as collisions and groundings are responsible for much larger spills, with at least 84 per cent of incidents involving quantities in excess of 700 tonnes being attributed to such factors. Incidence of spills greater than 700 tonnes by cause between 1974 and 2008. Source: www.itopf.com.
Research & Development • Research shows contingency planning is an important step in ensuring an effective and timely response to oil spills. • Existing oil spill cleanup methods were bulky and cumbersome, and often unable to reach and trap a spill before it spread out over the water.
Research & Development • Looked at ways to rapidly enhance methods of containing oil spills. Created a first line of defense system to work in combination with existing methods. • Established after nearly a decade of research and testing. • Rapid response system has been tested and certified by Lloyd’s of London. • Newly developed technology is internationally patent pending.
Introducing the ROC Barrier™ ROC = Rapid Oil Containment • With the innovative technology of the ROC Barrier™, for the first time ever, we can contain oil spills rapidly, before they threaten our water supply, adversely affect our health and harm thousands of marine life in their path.
Introducing the ROC Barrier™ Key features: • The world’s fastest, first response oil containment system. • Over 5 times faster than conventional booms. • Complete spill recovery – an environmental and economic breakthrough. • Extremely compact and easy to use. • Multi-purpose response system. • Works to rapidly contain all hydrocarbon spills on the water.
Introducing the ROC Barrier™ • The ROC Barrier™ uses a combination of proprietary, high-extension sorbent barrier, along with a patent-pending, extremely compact and easy-to-use deployment system to ensure the rapid response and containment of oil spills unlike anything used in the marketplace today. • The canister, which holds the film laminate used to contain an oil spill, measures just 20 inches in length, by eight inches in width, and eight inches in depth. • A standard 1,000-foot roll of product is only six inches in diameter and requires 1/20 of the storage space required by similar absorbent materials currently used in the oil spill control industry.
A breakthrough in rapid response • The ROC Barrier™ can be deployed quickly and easily from the back of any gas-powered watercraft.
How it works • Designed to prevent oil from spreading over the water and reaching the shoreline. • Deployed from the back of a watercraft at speeds of over 30 miles or 50 kilometres per hour. • While the watercraft circles the perimeter of the oil spill, the barrier’s film laminate continuously streams from the dispenser to quickly contain and prevent the spill from becoming a run-away slick.
Complete spill recovery • The ROC Barrier™ is the only available oil containment system designed to retain up to 100 per cent of the oil from a spill. • Once the spill has been contained, cleanup is done using existing remediation methods. • An environmental breakthrough, the ROC Barrier™ is the first of its kind to be recycled with the oil during the cleanup process. • Even better, the oil can be reused, dramatically reducing economic cleanup costs.
Works with conventional booms • The ROC Barrier™ works with conventional booms. • Reaches and traps an oil spill rapidly – before booms are put in place. Key environmental benefits = • Keeps oil from reaching the shoreline and can be recycled. • Protects our water supply, coastal wetlands, marine life, and beaches. Key economic benefit = • Dramatically reduces cleanup costs.
A multi-purpose barrier • Companies who have purchased the ROC Barrier™ are also using it as a barrier around docked ships to prevent any leaking oil from escaping. • Still put conventional booms at a distance of about 10 to 20 feet away. • The ROC Barrier™ containment system holds all hydrocarbons leaked by the ship, thus keeping the conventional boom free from contamination.
A multi-purpose barrier • Oil companies also use the ROC Barrier™ to remove grease from the water by corralling it and dragging it by boat, and using dip nets to collect it. • Can be done in 1/5 of the time spent using the previous method of chasing the grease around by boat and using a pool dip net to pick it up. • Provides a highly cost-effective solution.
Expanding global distribution • Officially launched in Canada in July, 2008. • Immediate exposure to global market through media launch and website. • Internationally, many environmental and technology leaders have already signed on to distribute the ROC Barrier™. • Recognizing its tremendous environmental and economic benefits, more and more companies are seeking distribution rights. • Distributed across five continents in the following countries: - United States - Canada - Venezuela - Central America - Japan - Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore) - Australia - Chile - Israel - Nigeria
A growing global response • Used by major leading industry and environmental companies in: • United States • Canada • Southeast Asia • Venezuela • Central America • Japan • Australia • Nigeria • Israel • Chile
U.S. Coast Guard uses the ROC • “Less than a month ago, a vessel that sank at Marina del Rey. Some of your barrier was on hand and its fast deployment was able to contain all of the leaked oil and prevent problems for the environment and the marina.” • James R. Montgomery, CAPT, U.S. Coast Guard
Increasing accountability for spills Growing global effort towards improving oil spill laws. • U.S. law requires the responsible party to pay for all cleanup costs of an oil spill, including wildlife rescue. • Ships coming into a U.S. port must make arrangements with both a spill control company and an oiled marine life response firm. • International law, primarily the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), mirrors U.S. law. • Countries can restrict the use of their ports to ships who are able to provide recent safety inspection documentation. • In Ontario, Bill 133 allows the Ministry of Environment to impose environmental penalties of up to $100,000 per day on companies responsible for oil spills.
Initiate a proactive response plan • One ROC BarrierTM containment system should be stored at each dock, gas pump and boat launch on site, as well as along the waterfront at beaches, resorts and conservation areas. • The cost of the system varies and custom sizes are available based on the amount of sorbent barrier needed. • Commercial units are also available to be purchased by owners and operators of tankers, ships and other watercraft, barges and oil rigs.
The ROC Barrier:compact… lightweight… fast speed The FIRST Emergency Response Tool to be used from the chest of remediation tools. Designed to corral a spill before it becomes a slickand harms our environment.
For more information Visit: www.murrenhil.com Call 1.800.808.1927