Local Man's Invention Uses Polyester To Cleanup BP Oil Spill

Sammamish Man's Invention Helps Cleanup BP Oil Spill In Gulf
SAMMAMISH - Since the environmental disaster happened in the Gulf of Mexico it seems like BP has tried just about any and everything to clean up the massive oil spill. A lot of those fixes have failed. Now, the oil giant hopes a Sammamish man's invention will save the day.

It started with a problem Jerry Brownstein noticed while running his vintage clothing shop 40 years ago in Los Angeles, what to do with old polyester that was filling up landfills.

"I said it's a resource this isn't waste, this is a resource and everybody looked at me and said it's garbage," said Brownstein.

But, Jerry was convinced he was onto something. He worked on his idea for years how to combine polyester scraps into sheets of materials that could help the environment instead of hurt it. Then, finally 10 years ago he and his partner hit pay dirt.

"That's when I heard him yelling from the back I thought he hurt himself or something and he comes running in and he says this absorbs 38 times its weight in oil nothing does that," said Brownstein.

They had figured out a way to interlock and strengthen the fibers X-tex was born and patented.

Jerry showed us how the fabric collects the oil and what's left is clean water. Now, BP is grabbing up all it can get of Jerry's goods to try to stop the oil on the shoreline.

"They put X-tex on the fences and the tide and the water can go back and forth through the X-tex it will take the oil out which ever direction it's coming in," said Brownstein.

According to Jerry crews are also using X-tex to clean the water too.

"Then, stuff this with X-tex, the loose form now. For the first time you have a boom that absorbs oil because these booms that are out there now are not designed to absorb oil, they're just designed to coral it," said Brownstein.

Jerry says it's also being used on the beaches too.

"That will trap the tar balls and they can just take the SOS up rather than trying to remove it one tar ball at a time with a kitty litter spoon," said Brownstein.

Now, all these years later BP is banking on Jerry's idea to solve the biggest environmental problem of our time. He's proud of his invention but the taste of success will be bittersweet.

"But, I don't like the disaster part of it I just don't. I wish there was some other way I'm just glad we're there to help though," said Brownstein.

Jerry says his factories here in U.S., Canada, and Mexico are working 24/7 to produce enough products for BP to ship to the gulf. He's even in talks with Officials in Italy right now to start making X-tex there to meet the oil company's demand to clean up the oil spill disaster.