It doesn’t matter where you work – whether it’s in a factory, on a construction site, on our roads, or even in an office environment, accidents will happen. It’s how you prepare for them that’s most important.
In many workplaces you will find spill kits are readily available to contain, clean up and dispose of emergency spills safely and responsibly. Have a quick look around the next time you are pumping petrol at your local service station, you will likely see oil and fuel spill kits at hand.
Service stations have a spills kit at hand ready for any emergency spills
Generally, spill kits fall into 3 main categories:
1. General Purpose Spill Kits
2. Oil & Fuel Spill Kits
3. Chemical Spill Kits
In this blog we will discuss these 3 main categories of spill kits, and also which spill kit is the best solution for your workplace to protect itself from damage and injuries resulting from liquid spills.
General Purpose Spill Kit
General purpose spill kits (also known as universal spill kits, all-liquid spill kits or environmental spill kits) are an essential safety tool designed for any workplace or public space which deals with less harmful water-based liquids such as:
- Coolants
- Paint
- Blood
- Bodily fluids
- Degreasers
- Agricultural chemicals and
- Other non-aggressive chemicals (mild acids, bases and water-based chemicals)
A general purpose spill kit is the ideal solution for hospitals/medical centres/pathology centres (also called lab, blood and medical spill kit), hotels/motels, commercial kitchens, shopping centres, schools/colleges/universities and aged care facilities. General purpose spill kits can be easily identified with blue bags and bins, and colour coded grey absorbents.
A general-purpose spill kit may be your solution if you are looking for a versatile spill kit for various liquids.
Oil & Fuel Spill Kits
Oil & fuel spill kits are designed for workplaces dealing with oils or fuels (hydrocarbons), including workplaces where vehicles or machinery have oils, fuels, petroleum, diesel or grease inside them.
An oil & fuel spill kit is suitable for petrol stations (also called petrol station spill kits), mechanics (also called automotive spill kits), manufacturing, factories, transport & delivery (also called vehicle spill kit), marinas/maritime industry (also called marine spill kits), public & private car parks and construction sites.
Oil & fuel spill kits are also ideal to keep within transport vehicles which transport oil & fuel, or transport machinery that contain oil and fuel inside them. Oil & fuel spill kits are easily identified with yellow bags and bins, and colour coded white absorbents.
Absorbents within these kits are hydrophobic, meaning they only absorb oil & fuel, not water, making them an ideal spill management solution for workplaces in and around waterways or exposed to wet weather where oil & fuel spills can occur on wet/water surfaces. The ability of these absorbents to be applied to land and water surfaces also makes them ideal for workshops/warehouses and public spaces exposed to weather. Absorbents can be used for:
- Oil or oil based liquids
- Engine oils
- Hydraulic oils
- Petrol
- Diesel
- Kerosene and the like.
This is particularly important in marine environments or any environment exposed to wet weather or internally where water is used in the ordinary course of business, such as a car wash. Should oil or fuel spill or leak in or around water, you want your absorbents soaking up those hydrocarbons, not the surrounding water.
Oil & Fuel Booms, used to contain spills from flowing into drains and waterways
Oil & fuel absorbents even float on water so they can be used in rivers, lakes, creeks or any body of water when an oil spill or any other hydrocarbon is discharged into the water.
Contain the spill using absorbent booms, then cover it with absorbent pads and pillows and they will float and absorb the pollutants that sit on top of the water.
It’s also important to point out that oil & fuel absorbents work perfectly well on dry land too.
Spill kits come with waste bags and ties to dispose of the fuel soaked absorbents safely and responsibly.
Chemical Spill Kits
Chemical Spill Kits (also known as Hazchem Spill Kits) are designed for workplaces dealing with harmful chemicals. Chemical spill kits are suitable for chemical plants and manufacturers, laboratories, factories, industrial facilities, laundries/dry cleaners, mine sites and any other workplaces that use or store harmful chemicals.
A hazardous chemical spill kit can be used for:
- Strong acids (sometimes known as acid spill kit) & bases (alkalis)
- Hydrochloric acid
- Phosphoric acid
- Sulphuric acid
- Sodium hydroxide
- Hydrofluoric acid
- Solvents
- Herbicides, pesticides and the like.
Chemical spill kits can be easily identified with red bags and bins, and colour coded yellow absorbents.
If there is ever uncertainty over what type of liquid has been spilled, it is best practice to use chemical absorbents. It is also worth noting that chemical absorbents will also absorb oils, fuels and other hydrocarbons if required.
A spill kit should be provided to anyone working with hazardous substances, along with training and a response plan in the event of an emergency. Fluids are required in all types of workplaces – to lubricate machines and equipment, to create end user products and a variety of other tasks we often don’t even think about.
Further examples of places that should carry spill kits include but are not limited to:
- Mechanics
- Laboratories
- Certain areas within medical and care facilities
- Service stations
- Industrial and commercial kitchens
- Waste collection depots
- Transport vehicles carrying hazardous substances
When selecting a spill kit(s), it is essential to identify your specific spill risk areas – the types and quantities of hazardous and non-hazardous liquids you carry and the different locations of these liquids at your workplace.
This blog has been provided to explain the different types of spill kits available in the market, and offer some insight into which kit would be the best solution for your workplace.