Removing fuel oil from unfinished concrete
Application of VaporRemed at a fuel oil spill in unfinished concrete
Spills in concrete are difficult to treat and any available and recommended treatments do not work at all times. Currently only VaporRemed is known to treat fuel oil spills in finished concrete, wood, card board and carpets generally requiring a single application. However, even VaporRemed cannot treat unfinished concrete with a single application. Why?
One of our customers gave us the answer by way of a video which he called as “burning concrete”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53YEF1ZDSpw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
He ordered VaporRemed and since one of us was going that way to New Jersey, we decided to deliver the product to the customer personally and save him the cost of shipping. However, when the odor was coming back after every application, I decided to visit the site and see what could work out best for the customer. Before I visited the customer, he conducted the above experiment on the surface confirming our theory that unfinished concrete would not release entrapped oil like a finished concrete surface. Fresh oil surfaced after each application of VaporRemed
Once this was clear to both of us that the unfinished had several pockets of interstitial spaces where oil remained entrapped, the next question was how to release this entrapped oil so that VaporRemed can work on the oil. Again our innovative customer created an enclosed containment using inflatable tubes and flooded the enclosed area with at least 4 inches of water. He could see, oil being released from the concrete and formed a thin layer over the water and now he treated water with VaporRemed. The process continued till he did not find any free oil coming out of the surface. Before the final application of VaporRemed, he ground the surface with hand grinder so that the surface became more porous for VaporRemed to reach every crevice and cavities.
Total Cost of the project: “We offered the tenants a compensation package for their inconvenience wherever they stay or leave. They decided to move out as they believe there is radiation like Fukushima and that the vapors once present will be there for eternity and a day. We did not try to persuade them, it needed to be their decision. Even though they admit that the smell is gone in the garage, they still feel that the memory of the vapors will haunt them forever.
The cleanup cost roughly $2000 in supplies and equipment rental. With $3000 exit package to tenants plus two months of rental income lost while the place is empty and being refurbished (paint, repairs), this accident will set us back more than $7k. At least I was able to do all the work myself, feel it would have cost me much more if I outsourced the cleanup.
By the way, the smell is GONE!!! Yeah VaporRemed!”