Oil Spills

With a modicum of luck, the disastrious impact of the Valdez oil spill and others like it may be a thing of the past.

"Oil spills and leaks of all kinds threaten water resources around the world. UniRem, located in Pittsburg, has developed unique, hydrocarbon remediation tools using its Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP) that can be spread on water or soil to absorb, contain, and safely dispose of hydrocarbon pollutants.

Essentially highly absorbent hollow spheres of beeswax, PRP immediately binds with hydrocarbons and provides nutrients to naturally occurring microbes. The feeding microbes then create enzymes that biodegrade contaminants.

The basic delivery system grew out of NASA biological encapsulation research and the orbital production of microspheres so uniformly precise they provide calibration standards for scientific and industrial equipment."

Serendipity: The gift of making fortunate discoveries by accident. (Not quite true in this case but the end result certainly applies.) [from the fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the heroes possess this gift]

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