The extreme importance of emergency spill clean up is daunting enough with out adding into the mix adverse weather conditions. From response time, to evaluation and creating a clean up strategy, adverse weather can affect the out come and planning for all of the above. In this case and since we are still in the throes of winter we will use freezing temperatures and precipitation as an example. Freezing ice and snow can be the culprit for petroleum and chemical spills on the highways and local roads.
Chemical and oil spilled on the roadways when mixed with snow and freezing rain creates a situation that needs to be approached with extreme caution. And while snow may act to help immobilize a spilled liquid, continuous snowfall may cover up impacted areas and make evaluation and cleanup difficult. Rain fall can also have a significant impact on the results of the spill as any heavy rains during cleanup efforts can potentially wash chemical spills down storm drains and contaminate creeks where it can harm wildlife and cause greater cleanup cost. So where as there’s never an optimal time for accidents to happen and hazardous chemical spills to be released, the weather and time of year they happen will always play a role in the outcome and planning phase of a cleanup. Nonetheless the safety during difficult conditions will always remain paramount.