National Guard soldiers are installing chemical-filled barriers around portions of Dauphin Island to mitigate the potential damage from the Gulf oil spill as it approaches the Alabama coast.
When oil seeps into the barrier, the chemical absorbs it and solidifies. Work crews can then remove the solid waste for disposal and refill the barriers with more chemicals.
The barriers, manufactured by Hercules Engineering Solutions Consortium (HESCO), were originally designed for flood control on beaches and marshes. And the U.S. military has even used them for protection against bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The chemical-filled barriers may offer this island community new hope, after heavy waves breached many of the traditional inflatable oil containment boom barriers that had been deployed over the weekend.
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