Maryland Department of the Environment
Castle Harbor Marina
Chester, MD
RE: PRP Petroleum Remediation Product
The Maryland Department of the Environment's Oil Control Program has reviewed the information provided on Oil PRP Petroleum Remediation Product oil spill clean-up material. The Oil Control Program is comfortable with the deployment of small amounts of this material to address oil sheen from accidental discharges at Castle Harbor Marina. The material is inert in nature and beneficial in removing oil sheen that would otherwise dissolve into the surface water, degrading and harming this resource.
Sincerely,
Herbert M. Meade, Administrator
Oil Control Program
Pittsburgh Voyager
Petroleum Remediation Product PRP
Pittsburgh Voyager is a nonprofit environmental education organization operating three vessels on the three rivers in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Voyager (PV) offers a wide range of river-based educational programs. One of its primary goals is to educate the public, especially school children, on the health of the river. In keeping with the goal, PV has launched a campaign to become "green" through the new construction of one of the first green passenger vessels in the word. In the campaign, PV is in the process of "greening" our current facilities in an environmentally responsible manner.
As PV moved forward with this green “ing” program, we needed to revaluate some of our maintenance processes and make necessary changes. One of the most complex problems in the boating industry is the management of bilge contamination, spills, associated waste and waster disposal. Also, the cost implications of managing these items properly can potentially be huge.
Recently, PV was introduced to a product called Petroleum Remediation Product. ( PRP) Pittsburgh Voyager had been looking for a material that is environmentally friendly, maintenance free, and that would facilitate the clean up of oil and fuel spills. PRP stimulates naturally occurring microbes that biodegrade hydrocarbons into CO2 and water --- it also is oleophilic and hydrophobic (encapsulates hydrocarbons and floats).
So, our first step was to look at ways in which we could implement the PRP product into our current maintenance and operation procedures. Pittsburgh Voyager was first supplied with BioSok and BioBoom products – essentially polypropylene socks filled with PRP. The sok is designed to absorb and remediate oil and fuel in the bilge and the BioBoom is best used in containing oil or fuel spills in the river or other open waters.
PV installed 8 BioSoks in the beginning of September in the engine room bilges on two of its vessels. The crew secured the BioSoks in place in the bilge sections using some cloth lines and finishing nails. A crew member inspected the BioSok weekly to see if the PRP material was depleted. This process took only a few minutes and cut down on weekly man-hours of handling and disposing of waste (more on that below). When the soks are depleted, the crew only had to deal with the disposal of the polypropylene sleeve.
Prior to using BioSok, Pittsburgh Voyager used a cotton, flat, sheet material called a diaper to help remove oil and petroleum out of the bilge. As a part of regular maintenance, a crew member removed and changed out these diapers once a week from the bilge. This whole process was quite cumbersome and difficult to manage. Diapers in the bilge also caused an awful odor as well as incurring additional costs for disposal to a special landfill.
At the same time, Pittsburgh Voyager used PRP in another application, and placed a BioBoom in the water near one of the vessel’s generator exhausts. This engine has a wet exhaust and on occasion at startup produces a carbon black soot output. The boom was totally depleted of PRP after three weeks. All that was left was the polypropylene sock. This product cleaned up the waste from the engine, the black film buildup on the docks, and probably unassociated pollution from the river as well!
PV took this PRP product a step further --- we figured that if this product had the capability of cutting down waste, why not try and eliminate the use of diapers in the drip pans under the main ship generators. Universal Remediation designed a pad that could be used underneath these components in place of the diapers. The crew checked and moistened the pads daily with a spray bottle of water to keep the microbes active when the engine was operating.
The overall outcome of implementing the use of these products has been a reduction in total costs for Pittsburgh Voyager Waste Management Program and environmental benefits to the river. The products have been beneficial to the ultimate end users --- the maintenance staff of PV! They no longer have to deal with the mess and odor caused by the diapers. PV now has an effective way of dealing with oil and fuel spill and managing the waste.
As Pittsburgh Voyager moves forward with its "greening" program, it plans to find additional ways to implement the use of PRP products further. Over the winter, PV is planning to use a PRP product called OilBuster on oil and fuel spills on the deck.
These innovative products will enable Pittsburgh Voyager educate others in more environmentally friendly practices and products.
Thank You,
Kimberly Ann Porr
Boat Operations Manager
Pittsburgh Voyager
1501 Reedsdale Street
Suite 2001
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
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