Most Australian workplaces store and handle hazardous substances. However, in the event of an uncontained chemical spill , these substances have the potential to harm human health, the environment and property. To help you control this hazard, we’ve put together this complete guide which explains how to prevent accidental releases, respond to a spill, and properly manage the waste that is a result of the chemical spill.
This complete guide applies to any workplace with hazardous substances that pose a spill risk.
Chemicals can be in liquid, solid or gas form, such as corrosive gases, toxic liquids or flammable solids.
Some examples of workplaces that require spill control and management include:
Any workplaces that carries hazardous substances must have a spill response plan in place.
The key steps in spill control include:
We’ll discuss each of these topics in further detail below.
Preventing spills requires a combination of good site management, compliant storage and handling practices, and the monitoring and maintenance of primary and secondary spill containment systems.
The key components of good site management are:
By using a risk management approach to chemical spills, you can assess and manage the risks of hazardous substances.
Risk itself is determined by a combination of an incident’s severity, consequences, and the likelihood of it occurring in your workplace.
A professional risk assessment enables you to identify and quantify the risk of a damaging event occurring at your workplace. It also helps you direct your resources towards implementing preventative controls to mitigate those risks.
Your risk assessment will help you correctly identify all hazardous substances and dangerous goods which pose a spill risk to your organisation and the surrounding area.
Good site planning is the foundation for excellent site management.
The entire workplace site should be considered when working out how to reduce the risks of harm to the environment associated with the storage and handling of liquid substances.
One proven strategy to control risk is to restrict certain activities — or use specific areas or zones within the site. This reduces both the risk of environmental pollution as well as the costs associated with preventing such pollution.
An effective site plan should involve the following considerations:
The storage of hazardous substances involves primary and secondary containment. Primary containment relates to considerations about the location and structure of the container, cabinet or store used to store your liquid. Secondary containment includes solutions, such as bunding, that can contain leaks and spills if there is an accidental release.
Whether they are being stored indoors or out, your chemicals must be stored in equipment that provides compliant spill contaiment.
To ensure effective primary containment, consider these points:
Consider the condition and labelling of your chemical packages. You may also require tighter controls on your chemical inventory to reduce the likelihood of spillage.
Secondary containment measures are designed to prevent liquids escaping into the environment in the event of a leak or spill and may include:
IMPORTANT :To learn more about the required capacities for bunds, see our blogs What are the Regulations for Chemical Bunding and How Do You Calculate Bund Capacity.
Secondary containment systems must be regularly inspected and properly maintained to ensure they perform as expected in the event of an accidental release.
Keep your bunds safe and compliant by inspecting and maintaining them.
Consider the following factors when developing an inspection and maintenance schedule:
REMEMBER: Staff should also be trained in the proper handling and storage practices so that accidental releases are controlled. By using bunded handling equipment and storage equipment, in addition to the development of work procedures, you can minimise the likelihood of chemical spills occurring in your workplace.
The first thing to consider when responding to a spill in the workplace is to determine how severe the incident is and what hazards are present.
The severity of a spill depends on the type of incident that occurs. It can be an emergency requiring an urgent response — and possibly even emergency services such as the fire department to attend the scene. Alternatively, the incident could be a minor spill that your inhouse spill response team can safely contain and clean-up.
Use the chemical spill decision tree flowchart to work through the process of deciding if the incident should be classified as a minor spill or major spill.
Even if the incident is deemed a minor spill, adequate and timely incident response is essential to minimise any harm to human health or the environment.
Download Chemical Spill Decision Tree Flowchart
Minor spills are classified as incidents that can effectively be cleaned up by an individual person onsite or small crew.
Major chemical spills, however, require a far more coordinated response in line with the workplace’s incident management and spill response plan.
Classify an incident as a major spill if any of the following criteria are met:
| QUANTITY | HAZARD | LOCATION |
| More than 100 ml or 10 g of a highly hazardous chemical (such as a carcinogen). | The chemical presents an immediate threat to human health and safety or the environment. | The spill occurred outside the site or area where the substance is generally handled. |
| More than 1 L or 100 g of a volatile or flammable solvent, reactive or corrosive (acid or base) liquid or solid. | The chemical is an immediate fire hazard, such as an uncontrolled gas leak (liquid petroleum gas, for example). | There are no adequately trained personnel available to clean-up the spill. |
| The chemical is unknown. |
Whatever type of spill you’re facing, it’s important to have an incident management plan in place. This plan should cover all the potential spill scenarios that could occur— and how to respond appropriately to each type of spill incident.
IMPORTANT: The relevant emergency services and regulatory authorities should also be consulted when preparing an incident management plan that involves potentially sizable incidents that could cause significant harm to human health, property or the environment.
An incident management plan outlines the procedures for handling an event that falls outside the normal operating conditions of a workplace, such as a fire, explosion or uncontained liquid spill.
The detail or length of the plan itself will depend on the size of the operations and what type of activities and substances are involved. For example, dangerous goods such as flammable liquids and other hazardous substances can present a far greater risk to health and the environment than less hazardous substances, and the incident planning process will reflect that level of risk.
However complex or simple the plan is, it should provide a detailed guide to the procedures required to manage any incident safely and in a way that minimises harm to personnel or the environment, as well as the business operation itself.
Your safety data sheets (SDS) are one of the most important documents to assist in your spill incident management plan, as these will detail all the hazards and incompatibilities, as well as the spill clean-up procedures, emergency and first aid requirements.
REMEMBER: Determining the level of risk associated with a potential liquid spill or leak at a workplace, and how to manage that risk effectively, can be a complex task. Enlisting an expert to conduct a proper risk assessment can help you prevent costly workplace incidents and ensure that you comply with Australian WHS regulations.
Spill response equipment can include:
NOTE: Always check the SDS of your chemical product to ensure absorbency and compatibility.
Train staff how to locate and use the spill kit, so that the correct equipment and absorbents are used during the spill incident. Always check the compatability of the absorbents and equipment that you're using.
If a spill or leakage incident is deemed serious enough to threaten the health and safety of people or the environment, the response should involve a site evacuation in line with the OHS requirements for your worksite.
If the spill or leak is not deemed to be a threat to the safety of personnel onsite, then the following general response principles should be applied when managing a liquid spill.
Australian Environmental Protection Authorities (EPAs) maintain a simplified four-step process in the event of a liquid spill in the workplace. Training nominated spill response personnel (as well as the rest of your staff) about these four basic steps can be an effective way to improve incident response across the workforce.
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4-Step Spill Response Sequence |
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STOP the spill |
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CONTAIN the spill |
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REPORT the spill |
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CLEAN UP the spill |
Some tips for chemical spill response include:
NOTE: Ensure all relevant personnel are prepared to attend to every spill immediately, no matter what size the spill or leakage is deemed to be.
Australian worksites that store and handle liquid substances typically generate a variety of associated wastes, including:
Each state or territory has legislative requirements for the proper disposal of wastes associated with the storage and handling of liquid substances in the workplace.
Check with your EPA or relevant regulatory authority for detailed information on how waste is categorised in your region and how it should be managed.
The clean-up process during a spill creates a range of liquid and solid waste products. These must be disposed of in accordance with the requirements that apply to your region.
Water and sewage authorities may enter into a trade waste agreement which will enable your site to dispose of contaminated water to the sewerage system.
The local authority will conduct an assessment of the wastewater you generate to determine whether or not it can be disposed of via the sewer. The contaminated water may require pre-treatment before it can be disposed of via the sewerage system.
Some chemical wastes, such as oils and solvents, can be collected for recycling purposes. They must, however, be appropriately contained in the event of a spill using dedicated secondary containment zones and liquid spill clean-up equipment.
NOTE: Just one litre of oil is capable of contaminating up to one million litres of clean water, but if it is recovered safely and securely, it can be a valuable reusable resource.
Disposable solid wastes are often generated during liquid spill clean-up operations. Such items may include:
Some of these solid wastes may need to be disposed of by an accredited waste collection service licensed to collect hazardous and industrial wastes.
Wastes classified as non-hazardous can often be disposed of in normal solid waste disposal bins.
It all depends on the type of liquid substances for which they are used to clean up, and how hazardous they are to human health or the surrounding environment.
REMEMBER: Seek advice from the waste collection service provider or your local council who will know what must be disposed of by a licensed contractor.
Some hazardous wastes are subject to very specific management controls and disposal protocols due to the risk they present to human health and the environment.
Depending on the type of chemical and the quantity of chemical waste involved, the appropriate authorities must be notified, such as the EPA or WHS regulator.
Examples of notifiable chemicals include:
Your local area will be subject to its own waste management and compliance frameworks for business and industry operators, with various resources and guidelines aimed at helping small to medium businesses find waste treatment providers and transporters.
EPA Victoria maintains a prescribed industrial waste database which allows businesses to search a list of prescribed industrial waste (PIW) treaters, disposers and permitted transporters in Victoria for a range of industrial wastes, including paints, solvents, oils, hydrocarbons and pesticides. EPA NSW partnered with Planet Ark to operate a national business recycling database which helps Australian businesses to find the reuse, recycling and waste services.
Each state or territory has its own waste tracking rules and regulations, but they are all universally designed to minimise harm to the environment during the transport and disposal of high-risk or hazardous waste.
Each state or territory will also maintain a list of trackable wastes, with many of these also including an online tracking system on their website. See your local EPA or Government website to learn more about online tracking systems and waste that requires tracking in Australia.
The following table lists a variety of industry sectors and some common examples of liquid waste and liquid-contaminated wastes that need to be tracked to comply with state or territory laws and regulations.
| INDUSTRY SECTOR | WASTE EXAMPLES |
| Farming and agriculture |
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| Automotive |
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| Fuel service stations |
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| Medical |
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| Research and education |
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| Dry cleaning |
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| Printing |
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| Photographic processing |
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| Metal casting and fabrication |
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| Metal finishing and electroplating |
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To learn more about reducing the risk of accidental chemical releases in your workplace, why not download our FREE eBook. How to Protect Your Business from Chemical Spills outlines the key requirements and regulations that apply to Australian sites, as well as some simple measures that you can implement to stop leaks and spills disrupting your operations. Find out more today by accessing your copy now.