The disclosure shows an apparatus and a method for containing a spill of petroleum product. The inventive apparatus and method each include the assembly pliable building blocks of a generally rectangular shape that surrounds an internal void. The blocks form a wall by stacking successive horizontal rows of building blocks such that the respective internal voids vertically align, thereby forming adjacent columnar voids within the wall. The columnar voids are then filled with an adsorbent material that will cling to the petroleum product.