In case you haven’t been paying attention to any media whatsoever, here’s a message for you:

But only until December 5! If you want one, go now.

After that, you’ll either have to live in fear that it will never return … get by with a virtual McRib (with cool zoom feature!) … or regularly travel overseas to areas where this boneless-wonder-that-appears-to-have-bones is on the McMenu year-round.

How the poor boneless pig farmers of America survive the times that McRib isn’t offered, I have no idea.

Yes, there are boneless pig farmers. They even have an Association. Click the image below to see a video from a member.

And because I know you’re curious, here are just a few of the products you’ll find if you search “rib” at newpig.com:

Ribbed Bottom Shelf Tray

Needle-Rib™ Entrance Mat

PIG® Poly Racker

I just received the picture below from Robin, a member of the New Pig family reporting for jury duty on a rainy morning. She noted that a PIG® Chat Mat® Runner is helping citizens stay safely on their hooves!

Below is a transcript of a voice mail from Jeff, a driver who called me after coming to our warehouse. I called him back and told him how glad I was to hear what he said and got permission to share his words. I couldn’t be more proud that he had such a great experience. Thank you to all the Piggers who make this happen day after day after day!

I’m a driver and I just loaded over at the Pig plant. I just wanted to let you know, I’ve been driving a truck for 20 years, and that was one of the most organized group of people in your shipping department.

From the time I pulled up to the dock to the time I shut my doors was maybe 15 minutes. From a truck driver’s point of view that’s very, very important.

I just wanted to commend your shipping crew there. It says a lot for the whole company, in my opinion. I just wanted to let you know they did a great job.

It is easy for people to complain when people do bad, but those guys and ladies did a super job. I had no clue I would be loaded that quick.

And I just wanted to tell you I appreciate it, and I appreciate their effort. It looks like the whole place is run that way.

Thank you. Have a nice day.

If your facility is required to have a Facility Response Plan under SPCC regulations (40 CFR 112,) you’re probably familiar with the term “worst case scenario discharge.”

Chances are, you’ve already done a hazard evaluation and created lots of discharge scenarios, lists, and training modules   (if not – better get moving: the deadline is November 10^th… I’m sorry, but you aren’t eligible for the one-year extension.)

Because the main focus of Facility Response Plans is on “worst case” discharges, a topic that can sometimes get overlooked is the requirement to also plan for small to medium sized discharges.

According to the National Response Center, most discharges are less than 100 gallons, which makes preparing for small spills just as important as planning for “the big one.”

We’ve talked to a lot of customers who are creating, reviewing or modifying their response plans, and a common question is “how big of a spill kit do I need?”  We even recently had a call from a customer who had just gotten off the phone with EPA and was really frustrated because they wouldn’t tell her how many spill kits she needed or what products should be in them.

Could that be right?   Why couldn’t EPA tell her how many spill kits she needs?  After all, she did know her worst case scenario discharge.

Just like other portions of the SPCC rule, the EPA specifically created flexibility in this area to allow facilities to determine what will best meet their particular needs.  That’s why there was no hard, fast number of absorbent booms, bales of mat or any other “list” that the EPA could reference to answer this question.

Spill kits are just one of many tools that can be used to comply with the requirement to have “emergency response equipment” as part of your Facility Response Plan.

So, how many spill kits do you need, and where should you put them?

The first question we usually ask customers is how big of spill they can have at their facility (or in EPA terms, what is the “worst case scenario.”)  But, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Barring natural and man-made disasters, discharges most commonly happen when oil is being transferred, and spills are usually less than “worst case” levels.   Data from the National Response Center helps to confirm this: most spills are less than 100 gallons.

Knowing this, it makes sense to put spill kits in areas where oil is transferred, and in areas where spills are likely to happen.  Receiving docks, waste collection areas, processing areas, areas where oil is pumped from drums or totes, outdoor storage areas, and fleet maintenance areas are all good areas to consider for spill kits.

Next, consider the size needed in each area.   Instead of looking at the overall “worst case” scenario, consider what is likely to happen in a given area.   For example, if you’re pumping oil from a 55-gallon drum that is stored on a containment pallet into a five gallon bucket, you could create a “worst case” scenario for that area that would involve a full-drum failure that somehow missed the containment pallet.

However, it is far more likely that a spill in this area would involve someone tipping the five gallon bucket – so a spill kit that absorbs five gallons may be an appropriate choice for that particular area (especially if other kits can be accessed and brought to the area quickly to address “worst case” issues.)

For loading docks, consider the types of containers that commonly arrive: are they five gallon pails? Drums? Totes? If the biggest container is a 55-gallon drum, it’s reasonable to plan for a 55-gallon spill on the dock.  You can follow this logic throughout a facility to address “small” spill needs.

So, back to “the big one.” If you have a 10,000 gallon, outdoor, above-ground storage tank – which spill kit should you choose?

We’ve found our large and extra large response carts to be a good fit for these scenarios, when they are coupled with other response equipment like our Drainblocker® Drain Covers, absorbent booms, vacuum trucks and other recovery equipment.    They help get the spill under control while other equipment is being readied.

Still not sure?  Give us a call.  We’d be glad to walk you through possible solutions.