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On October 17, a small commuter plane carrying 42 people skidded off the runway in Unalaska, Alaska.  Unalaska is located in the Aleutian Islands and is home to Dutch Harbor, one of the busiest US fishing ports and a frequent point of reference on the popular Discovery Network TV show "Deadliest Catch."  Two people were critically injured while 10 others required medical care.  Amongst the passengers was a high school swim team.  No one on the swim team was injured.  

The relevance of this accident for Texas Boom Company relates to the deployment of oil only sorbent boom shown in the picture above.  The sorbent booms are deployed in the water on the right side of the image.  Three sorbent booms are deployed in parallel, providing redundancy and added absorbency.  Sorbent boom is designed to repel water while absorbing oil, fuel, and other hydrocarbons.  Because it repels water, the sorbent oil boom also floats.  Fortunately, it doesn't appear that the plane crash resulted in a major spill.  IT does highlight the need to always be prepared, and to keep response supplies at the ready for quick deployment in the event of any unplanned emergency.  Speed is critical when it comes to the effectiveness of a spill response.  The quicker the containment boom can be deployed, the less likely the spill is to spread.  

Texas Boom Company offers a range of sorbents and would be pleased to consult with you on a stocking program for oil only boom, pads, and rolls.  Spill kits are also available.  The cost of planning ahead is far outweighed by the resulting costs of any spill.  

When a call comes in as the result of an active spill, office hours don't much matter.  Texas Boom Company stands at the ready to equip companies to quickly and effectively respond to oil spills.  The most recent example occurred when a leaking wellhead was identified in Tabbs Bay near Baytown, TX.  The exact source of the leak was unknown, so each of the companies that potential own the wellhead responded quickly.  TBC was asked to provide conventional oil spill containment boom and sorbents and responded by getting a trailer loaded in short order.  Our company also worked to provide additional sorbent boom the following day and consulted on deployment as well.  The goal at TBC is to have inventory at the ready for just such a need and to provide the knowledge needed to effectively deploy the products.  

While we hate to hear of any spill, we take pride in knowing that our products are used to mitigate the damage that results from any spill.  Containment boom keeps the oil from spreading.  Sorbent boom adsorbs the oil without taking on the water.  Oil skimmers collect the oil without intaking the water.  These three primary components are all be used in conjunction to reduce the environmental impact until the oil can be recovered and the shoreline cleaned.  It's not a perfect system, but it serves a tried and true means to lessen the damage caused by any spill.  

Workboat sets a perimeter with Texas Boom Company's oil spill containment boom.