Device and method for containing fluid spills

An elongated floating boom device for containing spilled fluids such as crude oil, is disclosed. The boom device is manufactured from its constituent components at the spill site. At least one continuous sheet of a plastic material is folded along its longitudinal axis, forming two wall sections of substantially equal height. A lower weighted section is formed by introducing inexpensive ballast heavy material such as sand into the fold of the plastic sheet and creating an horizontal seal which seals the wall sections together above the ballast material along the length of the plastic sheet. A pulling means such as a chain or steel cable also is provided in the weighted section. Pillow or float sections are formed by injecting air between the wall sections above the first horizontal seal and vertically or diagonally sealing the wall sections together at intervals and then horizontally sealing the tops of the wall sections together. Alternative constructions for the bottom device also are disclosed. A method of containing fluid spills also are disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to floating boom devices for containing 
spilled fluids, and, more particularly, relates to a floating boom device 
used for containing fluid spills such as crude oil with a plurality of 
float sections interconnected in a continuous manner and which has an 
elongated weighted section which extends substantially along the length of 
the device attached to the plurality of float sections from below. The 
entire boom device is manufactured at site of the spill from its 
constituent components, including at least one elongated plastic sheet, 
ballast material, and a pulling means. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Floating boom devices for containing spills of fluids such as crude oil on 
open water are well-known. Examples of typical devices are disclosed in 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,856 to Magoon et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,547 to 
Brown. Such devices are manufactured in sections and are delivered to the 
spill site and are pulled into location around the spill by a marine 
vessel. Sections of the devices are connected together to provide 
sufficient length to surround the oil spill. 
The materials used to construct the disclosed devices are relatively heavy 
and bulky. The resulting devices are supposed to be relatively long term 
barriers, but in fact, they are effective for a limited duration. 
While such devices are reasonably effective in containing oil spills, they 
suffer from several shortcomings. First, the materials used to manufacture 
the disclosed devices result in boom devices that are expensive ($25-$30 
per foot) and that are not easily stored. 
The relatively bulky nature of the disclosed boom devices causes an 
additional problem with their use. To be effective, the containment boom 
devices need to be placed around the oil spill as quickly as possible 
after the spill. Limits of available storage space act to restrict the 
length of boom devices that can be stored at any given location. Thus, a 
large oil spill can require a greater length of boom device than is 
readily availale due to the restrictions on the length of boom devices 
that can be stored. In such cases, addition boom device sections must be 
transported to the spill site and the relatively bulky nature of the 
disclosed boom devices also acts to limit the amount of boom device that 
can be transported to the spill site in a brief period of time. The recent 
oil spill in Prince William Sound in Alaska illustrates the problems 
caused by delays in storing and transporting containment boom devices. 
Attempts have been made to lessen the bulk of the boom devices. For example 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,036 to Smith et al. uses an inflation means to inflate 
float sections only when the boom device is needed. The disclosed device 
continues to require substantial storage space and is subject to the same 
limitation of other premanufactured devices. 
Additionally, since the disclosed devices are premanufactured, they 
generally cannot be adjusted to reflect local conditions of a specific 
spill, such as the fluid spilled, and the water and weather conditions. 
As illustrated by the present discussion, there are a number of desirable 
features for a floating boom device for containing fluid spills on open 
water. It would be desirable to be able to have a boom device with a 
plurality of float sections that are interconnected in a continuous manner 
which has attached below an elongated weighted section, where said boom 
device can be manufactured from its constituent components at the site of 
an oil spill, and pulling means. Further, it would be desirable have the 
boom device to be manufactured from components that are relatively 
inexpensive, readily available, and relatively easy to store and 
transport. 
While the above discussion was centered on floating boom devices for 
containing fluid spills on open water that are manufactured at the spill 
site, it is not intended that the invention be limited to this situation. 
It will be obvious from the description that follows that the present 
invention will be useful in other applications with problems common to 
those described herein. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is the object of the present invention to provide a floating boom device 
for containing spills of fluid such as crude oil on open water which can 
be manufactured at the site from its constituent components. 
It is also the object of the present invention to provide a floating boom 
device for containing spills of fluid such as crude oil which has a 
plurality of float sections interconnected in a continuous manner, has an 
elongated weighted section, which extends substantially along the length 
of the device, attached to the plurality of float sections from below, and 
which also has a pulling means. 
It is also the object of the present invention to provide a floating boom 
device for containing spills of fluid such as crude oil which is 
manufactured from constituent components that are relatively inexpensive, 
readily available, and relatively easy to store and transport. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for 
containing spills of fluid such as crude oil with a floating boom device 
that can be manufactured at the spill site. 
It is the further object of the present invention to provide a floating 
boom device for containing spills of fluid such as crude oil which can be 
adapted for the local conditions of the spill site. 
The present invention achieves these objectives and other objectives which 
will become apparent from the description that follow, by providing a 
floating boom device for containing spills of fluid such as crude oil 
which can be manufactured at the spill site for its constituent 
components. The boom device has a plurality of float sections 
interconnected in a continuous manner and an elongated weighted section 
which extends substantially along the length of the device attached to the 
plurality of float sections from below. The boom device is manufactured 
from at least one continuous sheet of plastic that is folded along its 
longitudinal axis forming two wall sections of substantially equal height. 
The weighted section comprises ballast material and a pulling means 
introduced into the fold of the plastic sheet, and then has the wall 
sections horizontally sealed together substantially along its length. The 
plurality of the float sections is produced by vertically sealing the wall 
sections together at intervals above the first horizontal seal, pumping or 
injecting air between the wall sections, and then, horizontally sealing 
the tops of the wall sections together. 
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, two continuous 
plastic film sheets are used to manufacture a floating boom device for 
containing a spill of fluid such as crude oil at the spill site. In this 
embodiment, two longitudinal edges, one from each plastic sheet, are 
joined together and then folded along the longitudinal axis of the 
resulting joined plastic film sheet. The boom device in this embodiment is 
then manufactured in the same manner as the above embodiment. 
Another embodiment of the present invention also uses two continuous 
plastic film sheets. In this embodiment, a plurality of float sections 
interconnected in a continuous manner is formed with one plastic film 
sheet and an elongated weighted section is formed with the second plastic 
film sheet. After the plurality of float sections and weighted section are 
manufactured, they are joined together to form a floating boom device. 
Yet another embodiment of the present invention uses a pulling means which 
also serves as the ballast material. 
An additional embodiment of the present invention manufactures the boom 
device using a laminated film. This laminated film uses a flexible 
material with relatively high tensile strength between two plastic sheets 
to give it higher sheer strength than simple plastic film. When laminated 
film is used, it will be possible in some applications to manufacture the 
boom device without a separate pulling means as discussed in the above 
embodiments. 
A further alternative embodiment of the present invention uses diagonal 
seals instead of vertical seals in creating the plurality of float 
sections. In addition to the diagonal seals, numerous alternative 
embodiments of the present invention are possible by modifying the shape 
and configuration of the individual float sections and the elongated 
weighted section of the boom device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
With reference to FIG. 1, a floating boom device 10 is shown. At its upper 
edge 12, the boom device has a plurality of float sections 14 which are 
interconnected in a continuous manner. Along its lower edge 16, an 
elongated weighted section 18 which extends substantially along the length 
of the boom device. The weighted section contains ballast material 20 to 
provide its weight. Sand is used as ballast material in the present 
invention due to its ready availability and low cost, although other 
relatively dense materials such as lead shot or gravel, or even dirt could 
be used. In calm waters, water could be used as ballast material with a 
narrow boom. 
A pulling means 24 is also provided for the boom device, which allows the 
boom device to be pulled into open water. Linked metal chain is used as 
the pulling means in the present invention, although other means such as 
hawser or metal cable can be used. In this embodiment, the pulling means 
is located within the weighted section, although the pulling means 26 is 
placed elsewhere in the boom device as shown in FIG. 3. In an alterative 
embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the metal chain used as the pulling means 24 
also can be used as the ballast material. 
For certain applications, a separate pulling means can be eliminated 
entirely by manufacturing the boom device with laminated film instead of 
regular single sheet plastic film. Laminated film incorporates flexible 
material with relatively high tensile strength between two plastic sheets 
to increase its sheer strength. Materials such as graphite fiber or 
fiberglass mats could be used as the strengthening material. As a result, 
the boom device could be constructed without a separate pulling means if 
the amount of boom device were not too large and the water in which the 
boom was to be placed were fairly calm. A device manufactured using the 
laminated film would be no different from any of the variations embodied 
in figures shown and discussed in the specification. The only difference 
would be that no chain or cable would be inserted into the elongated 
weighted section during manufacture. FIG. 10, which illustrates the 
manufacturer of an alternative embodiment of the present invention, shows 
the manufacturer of a boom device without a separate pulling means. 
If the environmental conditions were extremely mild and only a short piece 
of boom device were needed, it is even possible that the boom device could 
be constructed from normal plastic film without a separate pulling means. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the boom device is manufactured from a continuous 
plastic sheet 28, which can be provided on a roll 29. Experimentation 
indicates that the plastic sheet should have a thickness of approximately 
4 mil or greater. A fold 30 is created along the longitudinal axis of the 
plastic sheet which forms two wall sections 32 of substantially equal 
height. In FIG. 2, the plastic film sheet is folded on a roll, but the 
fold may be formed after the sheet is unrolled. A placement means, such as 
an auger 33, places the ballast material in the longitudinal fold. The 
pulling means is placed in the longitudinal fold at the same time. 
After the pulling means and the ballast material are placed in the 
longitudinal fold, a first horizontal seal 34 is formed when the wall 
sections are sealed together by a first horizontal sealing means 36. Means 
for sealing plastic film are well known and include heat embossing and 
sonic sealing. The first horizontal seal extends substantially along the 
length of the boom device. The first horizontal seal can be continuous or 
it can have gaps (not shown). 
The plurality of float sections in manufactured by first creating a 
plurality of vertical seals 38 by sealing the wall sections together at 
intervals with the vertical sealing means 40. As soon as a vertical seal 
is created, air is pumped or injected 41 between the wall sections 
substantially filling the cavity created. Finally, a second horizontal 
seal 42 is formed by a second horizontal sealing means 44, such as heat 
embossing which seals the tops 46 of the wall sections together 
substantially along the length of the boom device. 
As the boom device is created, one end 48 of the pulling means is attached 
to an anchor means 50, such as a sea anchor or fixed device, as shown in 
FIG. 2A. A marine vessel 52 pulls the means 54 producing the boom device 
at rate which allows the boom device to be placed in the water as the 
device is produced. The vessel continues to place the boom device into the 
water until the spill is surrounded. Boom device can be produced as long 
as the constituent components are available and can be restocked. 
Alternatively, the production means could be held stationary, for example 
placed on a beach and a marine vessel could pull the boom device into the 
water as it is produced. 
Any number of different configurations for the boom devices and float 
sections are possible. This flexibility allows the device to be adjusted 
for the type of fluid spilled, water conditions, and other variables at 
the spill site. FIGS. 1, 1A, and 3-8A have been included in an attempt to 
illustrate some of the possible configurations available when 
manufacturing the boom device in accordance with the present invention. It 
should be noted however that the illustrated configurations are by no 
means exhaustive of the possibilities available with the present 
invention. 
Two configurations of the float sections using substantially vertical cross 
sections are shown in FIGS. 1, 1A, and 3-5A. The vertical float section 
configuration 56 in FIGS. 3 and 3A is similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 
1A with the only difference being the fact that the pulling means has been 
placed above the weighted section. The float sections 58 in FIGS. 4 and 4A 
have a substantially vertical cross section but differ from the float 
sections in FIGS. 1 and 3 in that the float sections do not extend 
completely down to the weighted section 59. Instead there is a portion of 
the boom device 60 between the float sections and the weighted section 
which is simply an area in which the two wall sections 32 are in 
substantial contact with each other. 
Another variation in the float section configuration is shown in FIGS. 5 
and 5A. In this configuration, a separate weighted section has not been 
created. Rather, the vertical seals 61 extend substantially from the 
bottom of the boom device to the top of the boom device, where there is a 
single horizontal seal 62 creating a plurality of float sections 63 with a 
substantial vertical cross section in which the weighted material 64 and 
pulling means 65 are located substantially near the bottom of the float 
sections. 
The configuration illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 6A combines a plurality of 
float section 66 with a substantially horizontal cross section with a 
plurality of float sections 67 of substantially verical cross sections. 
The substantially horizontal and substantially vertical float sections are 
separated by a third horizontal seal 68 which extends substantially along 
the length of the boom device. As shown, the substantially vertical float 
sections occur only at intervals with non-inflated sections 69 between 
them. This configuration could also be combined with a substantially 
vertical float section such as shown in FIGS. 1 or 3 where there were no 
uninflated sections. 
The float section configuration illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 7A utilizes two 
pluralities of float sections of substantially horizontal cross sections 
70 and 72 separated by a substantially horizontal seal 74, and with a 
portion 76 between the plurality of float sections and the weighted 
section 18 in which the wall sections 32 are in substantial contact with 
one another. It should be noted that float sections with substantially 
horizontal cross sections do have vertical seals 77, but typically they 
are separated by longer intervals than are the vertical seals for float 
sections with substantially vertical cross sections. 
FIGS. 8 and 8A illustrate a boom device using a float section configuration 
in which the float sections 78 are created by diagonal seals 80 extending 
from a first horizontal seal 82 which creates the weighted section 84 up 
to the top of the boom device where there is a second substantially 
horizontal seal 86. 
By using a plurality of float sections, a boom device manufactured in 
accordance with the present invention can have the physical integrity of 
some of its float sections violated, i.e. they can collapse and lose their 
air, and the boom device will still perform its function. This can be a 
very useful characteristic in the oil spill environment where there may be 
a great deal of debris in the water and/or marine vessels passing over the 
boom device either accidentally or on purpose. 
In an alternate preferred embodiment, two elongated sheets of plastic film 
88, are used, as shown in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, two longitudinal 
edges 90, one from each plastic film sheet, are sealed by a central 
sealing means 92 to form a central seal 94. A floating boom device 96 with 
a plurality of float sections 98 and an elongated weighted section 100 are 
created using the combined plastic sheets in a manner substantially 
similar to the above discussed embodiment. Additionally, any of the 
configurations for the float and weighted sections discussed and 
illustrated in above embodiment are equally applicable to this embodiment. 
As with the above embodiment, a pulling means 102 may also be used. 
In another alternative preferred embodiment, two elongated plastic sheets 
110 are used. As shown in FIG. 10, the boom device has a plurality of 
float sections 112, which are formed by folding one plastic sheet along 
its longitudinal axis to form two wall sections 114 which are sealed 
together at intervals by a vertical sealing means 116 and then pumping or 
injecting air between the wall sections. A first horizontal sealing means 
118 seals the wall sections together substantially along the length of the 
plastic sheet to form a first horizontal seal 120 and leaving a first 
longitudinal edge 122 which extends beyond the first horizontal seal. 
The second plastic sheet is folded along its longitudinal axis, and ballast 
material 124 is placed in the fold 128. A second horizontal seal 130 
extending substantially along the length of the plastic sheet is formed by 
a second horizontal sealing means 132 with a second longitudinal edge 134 
which extends beyond the second horizontal seal. The plurality of the 
float sections and the weighted sections are joined together at a central 
seal 136 which is formed by overlapping and sealing the first and second 
longitudinal edges together with a third sealing means 138 and which 
extends substantially along the length of the boom device. 
Although this alternative embodiment is shown being manufactured with a 
float section of substantially horizontal cross section, any of the 
configurations of float sections discussed in the above embodiments are 
equally applicable to this alternative embodiment. Similarly, although no 
separate pulling means is shown in FIG. 10 for this alternative 
environment because FIG. 10 illustrates the boom device being manufactured 
laminated film, any configuration of weighted sections and pulling means 
described in the above embodiments are equally applicable to this 
embodiment. 
The resulting invention is a floating boom device for containing fluid 
spills on open water which can be manufactured from its constituent 
components at the spill site. The components are relatively inexpensive, 
readily available, and relatively easy to store and transport. The cost of 
producing the boom device is less than 10% of the cost of the typical 
premanufactured oil containment boom device. The boom device also can be 
adapted for the local conditions at the spill site, such as the type of 
fluid spilled, and weather and water conditions. The resulting boom device 
with its plurality of float sections is resistant to sinking. 
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
This invention finds application in manufacturing floating boom devices for 
containing spilled fluids on open bodies of water, and particularly allows 
for the manufacture of the boom devices from constituent parts at the 
spill site. Boom devices manufactured in accordance with the present 
invention are much less expensive than existing floating boom devices and 
can be varied to meet the environmental conditions of a particular spill 
site. 
Other variations and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated. 
Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate such variations upon 
carefully reviewing the above disclosure. Therefore, the present invention 
is not to be limited by the above description, but is to be determined in 
the scope of the claims which follow.