When responding to an emergency hydrocarbon spill, time is of the essence in all aspects. The Harby Enbvironmental Field Test Kits were developed by John D. Hanby in 1986 after he rand the lab at NASA for ten years.
Having the understanding that a simple, accurate, and cost-effective means of spot testing hydrocarbon contamination was of paramount need for spill response, Mr. Hanby developed the Hanby Environmental Field Test Kits for the immediate analysis of hydrocarbon-contaminated water and soil. Since that time, the kits have been deployed the world over on every major spill response and used domestically daily. The Hanby method is a simple colorimetric analysis. Color is developed for the sample being analyzed and is compared to a calibration book of fixed standards to determine the concentration level using the human eye to compare the sample analyzed to those of the calibration photos, placing the analyzed sample between the standard and fixed calibrations.
When a hydrocarbon spill has taken place, there is no time for delay. Delays will only cause the problem to get larger, meaning more time and money while increasing the environmental impact of the spill and putting the emergency responders in greater danger. The Hanby Field Test Kits provide results in soil in four minutes and in water in six minutes. Additionally, these results are very accurate. You have an effective field method if you can obtain a result in the field within 25% of a laboratory result. The results
obtained by the Hanby Method have been found to be within 10% of a laboratory result by the US EPA and the US Army Corp of Engineers. The costs of these fast and accurate results are very economical at $25 per test. Comparing to traditional laboratory analysis costs, results can be obtained with a 10 to 14-day turnaround at a cost of $80-120, or they can be expedited to 48-hour turnaround at a cost ranging from $200-500 depending on the volume with that laboratory and the logistics. But the greater value here is not the analysis-cost comparison, but rather the fact that the realtime information allows for the cleanup response to continue forward without delayed and high-cost laboratory results. And, of course, the greatest value of all is moving the project forward toward completion allows the emergency responder to get out of the danger zone faster.
Prior to beginning the cleanup, the kits provide the documentation and insight of the beginning concentration level, which determines how the cleanup will go. The kits also provide documentation, during the cleanup process and at the completion of it. Once the cleanup level has been met, it is recommended that samples be sent off to a third-party laboratory as confirmatory samples to validate the cleanup’s completion.
Providing additional documentation of the work performed at the cleanup beginning and ending levels, the new Hanby Mobile Application can be utilized complementing the test kits. The mobile application makes the simple test more accurate and increases the level of documentation. The mobile application also, replaces the human eye as the measuring optical with the camera on your mobile phone, thereby standardizing and replacing the varying human eyes. The mobile app also makes the concentration calculation for you and then immediately generates a pdf report of the results which is instantly sharable and then stored for future reference as well. Emergency responders across the US are using the Hanby Field Test Kits and have been pleased with its ease of use, reliable and accurate results, and its economical per-analysis cost. With the low per-test cost, more analysis is performed without the concern of cost, which provides for more data points, which provides a better understanding for determining the extent and boundaries of the hydrocarbon spill. All this combined is the no-brainer solution to use in a hydrocarbon spill response!
Today, Hanby Environmental is under the direction of third-generation Charles D. Fator, grandson of Mr. John D. Hanby, and he has made it his mission to have the kits deployed on every hydrocarbon spill, contributing to the welfare of all involved. He has strategically aligned Hanby Environmental with Perry Beaty of FlowStop HazMat Pipe and Plugs and Randy Cook of OMG Solutions. Combined they are “The Triple Threat.” “The Triple Threat” is a basketball term referring to a player with the basketball having three options: pass, dribble or shoot. Likewise, the three companies provide the three options: (1) to implement the FlowStop products to stop the flow and contain the hydrocarbon spill. Then the (2) Hanby products should be utilized to test the hydrocarbon contamination level. Then (3) the OMG Solutions products should be utilized to treat the hydrocarbon contamination repeating use of any or all of these products until the hydrocarbon spill has complete remediation or is cleaned up.
This power combination of products is being taught by the emergency response veteran, Perry Beaty, as part of his 40-hour certified HAZWOPER course under his HazMat Responder Network that is tailored to the towing industry’s emergency responders. Do yourself the favor and get trained by The HazMat Responder Network to implement “The Triple Threat” and save time and money while lowering the environmental impact of your emergency response and getting out of the danger zone faster! ◆
