Shampoo pig is my new action hero
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
No Comments Archive for February, 2009
Safe use of absorbents to clean up biodiesel spills
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
At New Pig, we value everyone’s safety. Since we’ve had some blog posts about biodiesel fuel, and because we’ve been hearing from more and more customers and do-it-yourselfers who are embarking on the adventure of making biodiesel, I wanted to give some quick notes on using absorbents with biodiesel and its components.
Biodiesel, vegetable-based oils and other components of biodiesel have a tendency toward spontaneous combustion when mixed with common spill cleanup products, so whether you’re using absorbent mats, wipers, rags, paper towels, cellulose absorbents, sawdust, clay, or chicken feathers, KEEP THE SPENT, SATURATED ABSORBENTS IN CLOSED CONTAINERS.
That means sealed drums, containers with tight-sealing lids, ziplock bags with the air squeezed out … There are lots of options out there.
Keeping the container or bag sealed limits the amount of oxygen reaching the soaked absorbents and helps minimize fire risks.
Whenever possible, store saturated absorbents in areas where they are not likely to create a structure fire, and arrange for prompt disposal through proper channels. Your local solid or hazardous waste authority should be able to offer suitable methods for proper disposal. If not, give Safety-Kleen a call.
Note that PIG® Absorbent Mats are made of 100% polypropylene and our PIG® BLUE Absorbent Socks have a polypropylene skin and vermiculite filler. Neither polypropylene nor vermiculite will support combustion. However, that doesn’t mean that absorbing something into them makes the resulting mixture safe.
Absorbents - ours and everyone else’s - take on the properties of the liquids that they absorb, so if you absorb a flammable liquid or one prone to spontaneous combustion into absorbents, you need to store, handle and dispose of the absorbents with the same precautions as the liquid.
In the case of hazardous materials, that means closed containers. New Pig offers open-head funnels and latching drum lids that can help facilitate quick, easy handling of wastes stored in steel drums. We also have products to help you safely collect and store liquid wastes. All are designed for ease of use and will help your facility stay cleaner and safer.
For safety’s sake, know when
to store saturated absorbents
in an air-tight container
Map-A-Spill special edition: Burger and beer spills spawn best news lead ever
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Bravo, Steve Gherke of The Salt Lake Tribune. Perfect lead sentence in the following news story from this past Tuesday.
I added the sub-heads and excerpted the full story. Please note that no one was injured in either accident.
As of this posting, we have no reports of incidents involving onion rings.
We added this to Map-A-Spill (the first Utah site!)
Click to see products for emergency spill response
Burger image © Stocksnapper - Fotolia.com
Beers image © dethchimo - Fotolia.com
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Truck accidents spill burgers on I-15,
drench I-84 with beer Red meat and beer clogged major traffic arteries Tuesday, slowing the morning commute. THE BURGERS The driver of a tractor-trailer carrying 40,000 pounds of hamburger patties dozed off around 5 a.m., said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Cameron Roden … THE BEER Before 7:30 a.m., a truck was heading westbound on Interstate 84 about a half-mile east of Morgan. The driver was traveling too fast for the snowy conditions there and lost control, Roden said. The truck slipped off to the left, hit a guardrail, and flipped over on its side. The impact split the truck open, spilling Fat Tire Beer being shipped from Colorado, Roden said.
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Curmudden and I discuss Mr. Clean Car Wash
Friday, February 20th, 2009
I asked my curmudgeonly fellow Pigger, Curmudden, if he’d heard about Procter & Gamble’s plan for a new national chain: Mr. Clean Car Wash.
He nodded and frowned. “Times are tough when Procter & Gamble can’t skate by selling all their other stuff: Bounty, Crest, Gillette, Pringles.”
“Dawn, Nice ‘n Easy, Olay,” I said.
He squinted at my naming these namby-pamby products.
I added manlier brands: “Folgers, Zest, Pepto-Bismol.” He relaxed into a fresh scowl.
“Wi-fi, flat screens, colored soap guns for kids,” he sneered about the amenities a Mr. Clean Car Wash will offer. “Just gimme a hose.”
“The EPA prefers car washes,” I said, “because they recycle water and capture chemicals.”
He made a face but also a little grunt of concession.
“And car washes can use a number of PIG® products: Barrel-Top Mats and Secondary Containment for chemical drums, Wash Water Recycling Systems, Wipers and Rags.”
“Hey, local car washes can use all that! The little guy, ya know?”
I nodded and let him simmer down before mentioning that Procter & Gamble will also be rolling out Tide Dry Cleaning Stores nationwide. It’s better to space out the controversial topics with Curmudden.
I also held off mentioning that another of our fellow Piggers is really looking forward to using a Mr. Clean Car Wash. See Tony below.
Jackson County, IL, judges are all wet if they refuse this bribe
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Yeah, baby, you read that headline right. Judges in Jackson County, Illinois, are all wet.
That’s because their offices and courtrooms have leaks. The County Board is studying estimates for roof repairs.
In the meantime, New Pig would like to offer Jackson County a $50 credit toward any of our Leak Diverters for Roofs, Ceilings or Pipes. They’re easy to install and will drain away drips so they don’t interrupt proceedings, make floors slippery or damage documents.
I’m going to email Jackson County to make sure the officials know how to take advantage of this offer. You may want to email them as well to urge them to take us up on it.
Yes, this could be considered a bribe. But if you don’t take it, Your Honors (all together now) …
YOU’RE ALL WET!
Drips image © Tomislav Stajduhar - Fotolia.com
Gavel image © Volodymyr Vasylkiv - Fotolia.com
New on Map-A-Spill: Santa Barbara, CA, Search for source of oil spill continues
Thursday, February 19th, 2009New on Map-A-Spill: Spills of chemicals, oil and glass
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009Scrapple: Double-take headline, SPCC tips, hard hat standards
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
Headline: Government Announces New Pig Task Force. But it’s not about us, it’s about helping the UK pig meat industry. Whew.
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Read here about how SPCC applies to mobile refuelers and portable tanks, including tips on using portable secondary containment and spill kits.
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The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) has released new standards for manufacturing hard hats. There’s more information concerning high-visibility products and those that are sometimes worn backwards.