White Oil Spill Sheets Hate the Sun

Secret #2: White Oil Spill Sheets Hate the Sun

According to a study at North Carolina State University, white oil spill sheet fibers lose 70% of their strength after just six days in the sun.

Sometimes manufacturers stop looking for ways to improve a profitable product. Especially if customers are using it wrong. 

  • Would a paper towel manufacturer try to prevent families from using their rolls in place of beach towels? Heck no.

  • Would disposable diaper makers discourage folks from consuming their products in place of toilet paper in a pandemic?  I think you already know the answer.

  • Do cigarette manufacturers want folks to stop using nicotine?

This is the case with the white polypropylene oil pads currently being used in the industry for persistent oil leaks in the outdoors. Problem is, white oil spill sheets were designed to sop up oil spills and be thrown away immediately – like a paper towel. That’s it. Nothing more.

Old-fashioned White Oil Spill Sheets Disintegrate in UV Light

Using them outdoors to prevent oil leaks and drips from polluting surface and groundwater creates a dangerous scenario.  When it rains, the rainwater washes the floating oil right over the waterproof pad and into the ground.  But, even during the driest days of summer, when there is no rain, these white oil spill sheets endanger the very environment they are supposed to protect.

White oil sheets were NOT engineered to be used outdoors.  Studies show that when exposed to sunlight, polypropylene fibers lose 70% of their strength in just six days.  So if it rains, you lose, and if it doesn’t, you still lose.

When these white oil sheets are left outdoors in the sun, they break down quickly.  They begin to fall apart, and if there is wind outdoors, they are blown all over. 

Old-fashioned White Oil Spill Sheets Disintegrate in UV Light
A 17″ x 17″ white spill sheet is reduced to a 3″ x 6″ pile of scrap after 56 days in sunlight.

Researchers have observed that birds see these oil-soaked fibers and mistake them for insects, ingesting them and dying. 

And if they happen to blow onto a river or lake, the fish could do the same.  Or, the oil could begin to separate from the disintegrating fibers and pollute the water.

  • Using white spill sheets outdoors to try to contain or control oil leaks and drips creates more problems than it solves. 

  • Sometimes we use products outside of their intended purpose with disastrous consequences. 

  • Sometimes we put too much faith in old, outdated products. 

  • Sometimes there is no demand for those products to be improved. If a product is profitable, and there is no creative competition.

Husky Oil Drip Filter Pan Lasts 10x Longer in the Sun & Rain

“We’ve used white spill sheets for decades to try to catch leaks and drips at our substations. We know they didn’t work very well. But we didn’t know there was a choice. Last spring a HalenHardy rep showed us a slideshow on how the Husky Pan overcame all the problems of white sheets. She offered us a sample to try. At first, I was skeptical. But after 3 months in the rain and sun, I was sold. We’ve switched 100% to the Husky Pan at every one of our substations.”

Substation Operations Foreman, Pennsylvania

You Deserve Something Better

The Husky Oil Drip Filter Pan is designed differently.  While the old white spill sheets begin to break down within a week outdoors, the Husky filter pan remains effective even after two years in the elements.  We designed our filter pan to be resistant to the UV light….leaving our rivals in the dust (literally).

You spend 90% less time.  You save 71% in your hard-earned money.   Most importantly, Husky Oil Drip Filter Pans help reduce the amount of oil polluting our surface and groundwater. 

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