Emergency Response to Save the Battleship Texas
DEER PARK, TEXAS Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services, Inc. assisted in emergency ship-to-shore off load pumping operations performed on the historic Battleship Texas. The 100 year old USS Texas, located near the San Jacinto Battleground State Park in Deer Park, Texas, began taking on water over the weekend. Jimmy Watson, from the regional office of the Texas Parks and Wildlife department was on hand to describe the situation. “We were notified Saturday around three P.M. that she was taking on water so we sent three additional four inch pumps out to keep up with the amount of water coming in.”
Phoenix dispatched a Hazmate team and a 70 barrel vacuum truck to set up oil skimming operations inside of the massive ship to prevent oil from being released into the Houston Ship Channel during the water pumping operations. Watson escorted the PIC and Safety Compliance Manager down four decks to the engine room to inspect and establish a safe and efficient approach to removing the oil. All though the battleship had good air flow on the upper decks, the engine room, where the work would be taking place was approaching 100 degrees in temperature. The first Job Safety Awareness task identified was the potential of heat exhaustion and was later addressed during the site safety meeting that occurred top side prior to beginning the project. Another potential hazard was slips, trips and falls due to the cramped conditions throughout the ship. Response crew members had to be safety aware for themselves and for the visiting public’s safety as well.
The Response Team laid out vacuum hose and added a Frac Tank to pump the oil into. Then Phoenix hooked the tank up to a 130 barrel vacuum truck so as to pull from the tank and transport to an authorized disposal facility.
News crews from all over the State were sending out reports about the sinking monument and the emergency response to fix the leak. The visitors continued with there exploring of the battleship while not knowing they were on a sinking ship!
The Battleship Texas has had leaks in the past and have been repaired using this same approach; 1. Pumping off the oil from the ship. 2. Pumping the water out of the ship. 3. Divers locating the damage causing the leak. 4. Utilizing underwater welders to repair and patch the damage.
Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services was honored to be a part of the Emergency Response team of contractors that played a part in saving the Battleship Texas. For more information on the services we offer please call 281-838-3400 or click www.PhoenixPolution.com
Phoenix Pollution Control Conducts HAZWOPER Refresher Training
BAYTOWN, TX. Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services, Inc.
recently conducted 8 Hour HAZWOPER Refresher Course Training for all of its
emergency response personnel and supervisors. The training was conducted at
the corporate head quarters located in Baytown Texas.
The training course was lead by Albert Condello, Professor of Safety
Management & Fire Protection Engineering College of Sciences and Technology
at the University of Houston, Downtown. Condello has been providing the
industrial and emergency response training for most of the attendees for
over ten years. All of the supervisors had worked along side Candello on
emergency response incidents through the years and as recent as the MC252
Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico. “We all share a common
bond due to our similar experiences,” Condello explained. “This allows me to
prepare a refresher course that directly relates to the type work Phoenix
performs for the petrochemical and oil and gas industries.”
The annual 8 hour training is required by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) ruling 29 in the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) section 1910 .120(q) Emergency Response, to maintain and keep current
the 40 Hour HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response)
certificate. With this training, a person can work as a Qualified Emergency
Responder and get involved with cleaning up the environment after a disaster
like the BP oil spill.
Phoenix Pollution Control performs all aspects of emergency response on land or on water, oil or hazardous materials, from small project to events requiring hundreds of people, Phoenix can mobilize its teams and with its network of sub contractors respond to events anywhere in the United States. With over 200 years of experience, the management team at phoenix can help the client with a rapid conclusion to the clean up and reduce cost.
Phoenix Pollution Control provides cost effective solutions for the proper disposal of waste streams and provides a wide array of environmental services. The Phoenix waste management department provides a full service of manifesting and profiling as well as the pickup and transportation of our clients waste to an approved disposal facility.
For more information on our services or a career in the Emergency Response
industry, call 281-383-3400 or see us on the web at www.phoenixpollution.com
Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services recently assisted in emergency spill response operations to stop the flow of a petroleum based product down Slapout Gully and reaching the marsh lands of Burnett Bay and into the Houston Ship Channel.
BAYTOWN, TX Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services, Inc. (Phoenix) recently conducted emergency spill response operations involving a petroleum based product that had made it’s way through the storm drainage system of an industrial complex and into a near by creak. The creek feeds into Slapout Gully that then feeds into Burnet Bay and the Houston Ship Channel.
Phoenix response crews began immediate booming operations on the mouth of the gully and working their way up stream as another crew was conducting HAZMAT operations at the source of the spill and booming the creek, working down steam. Hard plastic boom was used to stop and collect the product and absorbent boom was used to capture the product and suspend in the absorbent material.
Down stream from the source, Phoenix built a dam using earth and eight inch pipe as a way to raise the water level, slow the migration of the product and skim the light petroleum sheen from the water. “Our goal is to prevent the product from entering the marsh area of the bay and contaminating the wetlands in the area and from entering the Houston Ship Channel,” said Randy Watson, Project Manager, Phoenix Pollution Control. “We are currently gathering water samples for lab analysis to determine what percentage, if any, of the product made it past our preventative measures and into the Bay,” He continued.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was conducting an investigation and was the on scene coordinator for the response.
Phoenix Pollution Control Conducts Emergency Response Drill
For K-Solv Chemical Storage and Blending
CHANNELVIEW, TX The K-Solv Chemical Storage and Blending facility located in Channelview, Texas recently conducted an emergency spill response drill and training for site personnel. The training scenarios began with a leaking drum located in the warehouse. The training participants downed level B personal protective equipment and began Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) ops to contain and clean up the spilled product. Absorbent boom placed around storm drainage areas to prevent down stream migration of the product was the first line of containment. Next, absorbent pads were placed directly on the product throughout the contaminated area for safe removal and proper disposal of the product.
The second drill scenario was deploying containment boom on the waterway. This drill required the expertise of Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services, Inc, an emergency response company specializing in land and waterway spill response. The responders from Phoenix trained the K-Solv personnel on the safe and proper procedures of deploying containment boom from the shoreline and dock in the case of product reaching the water. As the boom boat pulls the one hundred foot sections of boom in the water, the shoreline responders attach more sections to each end until there is enough boom to contain the spilled product and prevent further migration down stream.
The final training scenario was on deploying and operating barrel skimmers that are used to pick up the spilled product from the water and the type of equipment found in a spill response trailer in the case of an emergency.
For more information on the services provided by Phoenix Pollution Control and Environmental Services, Inc, call 281-838-3400.