Pall Corporation (NYSE:PLL) is donating leftover polypropylene membrane from its manufacturing operations in Pensacola, Florida, to help protect local beaches from the Gulf oil spill.
So far, the company has contributed over 6,000 pounds of the highly absorbent material to aid in the clean up. Pall employees and other local volunteers are bagging the material into netting “socks” to soak up the oil and help contain environmental damage.
Pall Pensacola employees volunteer to assemble netting "socks" with polypropylene donated by Pall Corporation to help soak up oil from the Gulf spill.
Pall's polypropylene membrane is widely used by Life Sciences and Industrial customers to filter water, chemicals, biologicals, fuels and in other applications requiring high dirt-holding capacity. The facility in Pensacola is a Center of Manufacturing and Research Excellence in the company's global supply chain.
Polypropylene is the most common form of absorbent for lifting oil from water. Its fast-wicking fibers can absorb 25 times their weight in petroleum-based liquid, but repel water. Pall trims rolls of polypropylene on the production line to specific customer requirements and, as a result, accumulates leftover material. By repurposing the material for a "second life" to abate the oil contamination Pall's accomplishment is a doubly significant environmental achievement.
“I want to thank Pall for getting involved. We appreciate your staff coming out to pitch in as well. Your donation of oil absorbent material is being put to good use in the fight to keep oil off our beaches. On behalf of our Mayor, City Council and all of our Gulf Breeze area residents, thanks for all your support,” said Edwin Eddy, Gulf Breeze City Manager.
Eric Krasnoff, Pall Chairman and CEO, said, "We are pleased to help any way we can. I'm especially proud of our Pensacola employees for their ingenuity and for rallying to the aid of their community. Their actions epitomize Pall's culture of innovation, citizenship and environmental stewardship. They also demonstrate the positive impact that each of us can have on our communities."