Cleaning up oil spills

Transformer oil is of low toxicity. However, a small percentage of older transformers (manufactured before 1978) contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at extremely low concentrations.

Transformer oil is not readily biodegradable. The cleanup of oil spills following a leak is carried out to minimise the impact on the environment.

The clean-up process involves:

fixing the leak and containing the spilt oil if required
inspecting the site to determine the extent of the spill and what clean-up measures are required
removing contaminated materials and soil
sampling the remaining soil to confirm that all the contaminated soil has been removed
reinstating the site to the condition that existed immediately prior to spill
disposing contaminated soil to an appropriate landfill site

Site prior to clean up – samples are taken to determine level of contamination

Excavated site – samples are taken to confirm that the site is clean

Completed clean-up with re-instated lawn

The overall clean-up process can take between seven and thirty days depending on the complexity of the clean-up that is required.

Contact us

For more information contact:

Drew Byrne
T: 08 9326 6658
Geoff Park
T: 08 9326 6800