ABSTRACT
Hazardous chemical releases may generally be classified as land or water spills. The following sections describe some available techniques for spill containment in each type of location.
12.2 LAND SPILLS Hazardous chemical releases that occur on land do not travel as far or spread as rapidly as spills into water resources because soil, vegetation, and other materials tend to restrict the lateral movement of chemical mixtures. Liquid can exhibit rapid vertical movement in porous soils, however, resulting in the contamination of large volumes of soil and possibly groundwater resources. Hazardous chemical spills in urban areas may also flow into storm sewer systems or utility excavations, causing contaminants to spread and making removal difficult.
