Sometimes it is just the slant of the light, or a certain tone of color, or in this case, the curve of the yellow oil boom. Down by the old power plant, there is an oil terminal. Huge barges are brought to the terminal by big tug boats, and then the oil is offloaded and the barge and tug go back where they came from. There is also a huge tank farm across the road from the terminal with giant white tanks storing different grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating and heating oil. Just in case there is a small accident while unloading they put these oil booms in the water and if there is a small spill it can be contained by the boom. I just liked the curve of the boom and its resemblance to a water snake.
A company in Connecticut called Slickbar developed 22 oz. PVC/Polyester Coated Fabric Containment Booms in 1960 to control "oil slicks" where oil is transferred from ships to storage vessels on shore. Since oil essentially floats on water, contained oil spills can then be skimmed off or absorbed for disposal.
ReplyDeleteFascinating story. Interesting that they were not invented until 1960. Were there other materials before the PVC/Polyester coated fabric that were used for oil containment booms? You are a fountain of knowledge!
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