Oil Spill Cleanup – Preventing Injuries

Oil powers much of American experience. From cars to boats to industrial machinery, oil remains ever-present. Unfortunately, as liquid tends to do, oil spills from time to time. Despite numerous high-level precautions that help to prevent oil spills from being a commonplace occurrence, there are times that oil does spill significantly into water or onto the land. When oil spills occur, it is important to connect with an oil spill cleanup service company that understands how to respond to this potentially dangerous and costly turn of events efficiently and effectively. Doing this will remedy any further damage and may even help if your city or place of business is sued by a citizen.

What Resources Are Required When Oil Spills?

As an experienced oil spill cleanup firm – including Nielsen Environmental – can confirm, the kind of resources that a spill requires is dependent upon the kind of spill that has occurred. For obvious reasons, a relatively minor spill occurring at a gas station pump is going to require a different response than a large-scale water-based spill would. Depending upon the kind of spill that you and/or your company is dealing with, you may need to speak with a specialist that has the ability to assemble response vehicles, support teams, insurance specialists, and weather-specific equipment. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that any spill will require immediate action. By putting it off, you run the risk of property damage, injuries, and environmental issues. Remedying the damages as quickly as possible may help mitigate any risks that come your way and ease the brunt of the burden you may have. Preventative action is definitely required, not just to clean up spills, but to prevent potential hazardous situations. Injuries that may occur on a business owner’s property or even in public areas, is known as premises liability.
Whether you are navigating a tanker truck rollover, a pipeline rupture, an industrial spill, or even a spill at your residence, you’ll want to engage with a company that understands how to clean up oil specifically. Many decontamination, disposal, and demolition operations do not deal with oil spill cleanup. This is specialized work that requires a specific set of skills and resources in order to achieve all necessary cleanup objectives.

First Steps After an Oil Spill

If oil has just spilled on your company or residential property—or on government property that you help to manage—do not panic. Also, do not touch it. Safe, effective oil spill cleanup requires certain safety equipment and safety suits that you likely do not have access to. Instead of attempting to clean the spill yourself, connect with a service provider who has experience cleaning up these kinds of spills. By attempting it on your own, you are leaving yourself open to liability issues and potentially being sued if injuries occurred because you did not properly clean up the spill. Again, keep in mind that not every cleanup service deals with oil specifically. You’ll want to make the nature of your situation clear as soon as you contact a local company to assist you. If that company does not have a proven track record regarding successfully cleaning up oil specifically, thank them for their time and move on to a company that does.