What happens if the storage tank painting project is near a natural habitat for plants and wild life, such as at parks, forests, rivers and streams? What if the routine storage tank painting job carries an imminent danger of damaging the natural ecosystem in the area?
The consequence of the project is much higher in such locations. Painting near a body of water that supplies potable water to the local community, for example, should be conducted with extra care. The crew must conduct lead containment activities, tank preparation, and even the handling and disposal of paint with extreme caution. Negligence can lead to the disturbance, harm and even death of plants and animals living in the area. Worse, if project materials ever leak into the surroundings, this can potentially lead to a greater health risk to the nearby human population. Ground water contamination, for one, is a high price to pay for a storage tank painting project that inadvertently leaked paint materials into a nearby river.
Challenges in an Ecosystem-Friendly Storage Tank Painting
Here are a few risk-critical issues that should be addressed in storage tank painting near water and natural habitats:
- Lead containment. Lead testing should confirm the presence of lead in the coatings. Even trace amounts should be treated with caution, with the storage tank painting crew observing stringent lead-sensitive measures and laws.
- Old coatings removal. A containment system should be installed to keep old coatings and other debris from spreading into any water source nearby. An uneven terrain, common to these locations, may make total containment impossible. Partial containment can be achieved using a movable system of canvas and scaffoldings. The crew removes old coatings and cleans the surface using this method. This may be a tedious process, but it makes the work environment-friendly.
- Inclement weather. Working in poor weather conditions in remote areas and away from proper shelter can be inhospitable. When the weather turns rough, the crew may have to work on the tank interior, away from the wet and mucky exterior surroundings. Only when the weather improves can exterior work continue. The weather is major factor when planning the time of completion of the project.
For the sake of environmental protection, the storage tank painting crew has to be considerate of the environment as they handle machines and materials of the project. This can lengthen the time spent on the project, but this is a small price to pay for ecosystem preservation.
Environment-Friendly Storage Tank Painting Crew
Upholding the safety of the environment is added to the work description of the painting crew tasked to repair or maintain a containment tank surrounded by or near natural habitats. The crew should be knowledgeable in green coatings, green primers, and green coating materials. They must know about VOCs, environmental standards, toxic greenhouse emissions, to name a few.
The storage tank painting contractors must update their green learnings either through formal classes, on the job, or in industry events. Their green technology know-how, skills and methods can be upgraded by keeping pace with OSHA, E.P.A. and state environmental laws and building codes.
The deliverables required of the storage tank painting crew are a combination of quality performance but less harm to the environment. This can only be possible with a green mindset on the part of the storage tank painting contractors.
