When you’re working with liquid chemicals, spillage is inevitable. Whether your staff are handling, transferring or storing hazardous materials, they must be prepared to contain, clean-up and manage chemical spills. Whether it’s a major spill, such as a leak from a large fuel tanker, or just a few drops of corrosive chemicals spilt in a decanting area, you’ll need to develop a chemical spill response plan to reduce risk.
But how do you go about developing a chemical spill response plan? In this post, we explain the steps you can take to create effective spill response procedures, including:
- Conduct a risk assessment to identify hazards
- Categorise the type of spill, whether its minor or major
- Implement and maintain the appropriate chemical spill kits that are suitable for onsite substances
- Train staff so they can quickly and confidently manage the spill
- Establish operating procedures so staff are fully aware of how to action the emergency response
REMEMBER: It’s always best to prevent a chemical spill from happening in the first place and you have a legal obligation to “ensure that containers of hazardous chemicals and any associated pipework or attachments are protected against damage caused by an impact or excessive loads.”
Section 358 WHS Regulations
Risk Assessment
Any emergency response plan should always begin with a risk assessment that identifies chemical spill hazards. During this risk assessment process, you should take a closer look at the way each chemical is received, stored and handled in your workplace. This will allow you to create an emergency response which considers all possible hazards that may be created by the spilled chemical.
Key points to consider when conducting a risk assessment are:
- The nature and form of the chemicals (eg, combustible liquid/flammable solid).
- What quantities of chemicals are kept onsite (eg, 50 x 15kg cylinders of LPG/1 x 9,000 litre tank of diesel)
- Estimated size of the largest possible spill (eg, 80,000 litres of petrol stored in a bulk tank, 64 drums of corrosives in a 32-pallet outdoor corrosive store)
- What incompatible materials, conditions, or substances could cause the chemicals to react dangerously (eg, hot weather/hot work and machinery)
- How spilled chemicals could impact neighbouring properties or the environment (eg, seeping into agricultural lands/vapours affecting adjacent worksites)
REMEMBER: Your spill containment systems “must not create a hazard by bringing together different hazardous chemicals that are not compatible or that would react together to cause a fire, explosion, harmful reaction or evolution of flammable, toxic or corrosive vapour.”
Safe Work Australia
What's The Difference Between Major And Minor Spill?
Determining the type and quantity of hazardous materials will help you decide if the spill is a major or minor incident. You may also have to factor in the location of the spill as this may increase risk in your operations.
Generally, minor spills are smaller, less hazardous incidents which can be handled by your own spill response team. While major spills require a coordinated response that often requires emergency services to control the situation.
Minor Spills
Minor spills may occur regularly in your workplace, but they still pose risk to your people, property and the environment. When dealing with a spilled chemical that is deemed to be minor, you’ll be focused on containing and cleaning up small, manageable quantities of hazardous materials.
Minor spills may occur everyday in your organisation, but they still pose serious risk if they’re not contained and managed properly.
Minor spills could be something as simple as an open flammable liquids container being knocked over, corrosive chemical drums being knocked over in a store, or ill-fitting decanting equipment that results in an oil spill.
Wherever liquid chemicals are present in your workplace, you must ensure that you have the correct equipment and procedures in place to deal with spillage.
IMPORTANT: Even small spills can create risk. Small amounts of flammable liquids can ignite or cause an explosion, corrosive substances can attack human flesh as well as property, and toxic chemicals can cause severe health issues for personnel. Always ensure that you have training and procedures in place to quickly clean up a minor chemical spill — even if it’s just a few drops of a hazardous liquid.
Major Spills
Consider for a moment that a truck flips on its side, releasing 20,000 litres of diesel or industrial chemicals. As you can imagine, this spill is far beyond the capabilities of even the largest industrial worksite. A chemical spill, such as the one detailed in this example, will require immediate intervention by the appropriate emergency services.
If your worksite is carrying large quantities of hazardous chemicals or Dangerous Goods, your chemical spill response plan will need a set of procedures for dealing with a major spill.
A major chemical spill is any situation where the volume of chemicals is greater than the capacity of accessible spill containment kits. It could also involve smaller quantities of a highly toxic chemical where the available PPE would not ensure the safety of all workers. For example, an uncontrolled leak of highly toxic or corrosive gases would be classed as a major chemical spill.
Your spill response will focus on evacuating the site, sealing off affected areas, and immediately notifying emergency services. Major spills of dangerous goods pose an immediate threat to life and property, so you may need to activate alarms and tend to people who have been exposed to these harmful chemicals.
IMPORTANT: Your chemical spill response plan will probably form part of your Emergency Plan and may need to be developed in consultation with local emergency service responders. If your site is at risk of a major chemical spill, staff will require formal training and need to attend regular simulation exercises and evacuation drills.
Using Spill Clean-up Kits
Work with chemical suppliers and dangerous goods specialists to ensure that a compatible chemical spill kit is available near chemical storage and handling areas. Remember that you may need a different type of chemical spill kit for various classes of hazardous materials.
Choose a spill kit that suits the type and quantity of chemical that you're carrying.
Chemical spill kits vary, but you can expect them to contain:
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) - staff must use the appropriate personal protective equipment while cleaning up the spilled material, such as chemical resistant gloves, splash goggles, shoe covers.You may have to purchase some pieces of personal protective equipment separately from your spill kits.
- Absorption materials – cleanup materials, such as pillows and spill pads, are necessary for soaking up or absorbing the hazardous material. When selecting or replacing an absorbent material, ensure that it’s chemically compatible with the hazardous material that you’re looking to clean-up. Spill control materials may also include items, such as booms, which prohibit the hazardous material from spreading further through the workplace.
- Neutralising agents – if your hazardous material requires neutralising agents, these must be included in your spill clean-up kit. Neutralising agents render acids and some other dangerous chemicals safe for cleanup (eg, Liquid Acid Neutraliser, Dry Acid Neutraliser).
- Tools and containers – cleanup materials include all those items necessary for the containment, cleanup and disposal of hazardous materials. Your cleanup materials and equipment may include brooms, scoops, shovels, plastic bins, bags and labels (for chemicals that are placed in new containers).
- Laminated instructions – spill kits should come complete with laminated instructions that will assist staff with using the cleanup materials and appropriate absorbent material in the correct way. The instructions should be kept with the chemical spill kit to ensure safely.
Spill Training
Now that you’re adequately equipped to deal with a chemical spill, please don’t leave your spill kits lying in an unmarked location — with staff unaware of how to use them.
Spill response training is an essential requirement when developing an effective chemical spill response plan.
At a minimum, you should show your staff where the spill kit is and exactly how to use it. You should ensure that your spill kits are visible and marked with the appropriate Spill Kit signage. The set location for your spill kits should also be easy to access, so no time is wasted in the event of a workplace chemical spill.
It’s particularly important to train your managers, supervisors, team leaders, workers and contractors to always work in a team. As a safety precaution, you should never clean up a spill alone.
Your people should have a firm understanding of when to notify emergency services in the event of a hazardous chemical spill. If the spill has spread beyond the capacity of the containment facilities at your workplace, you may not be able to deal with it effectively within your own organisation.
However, before you can train staff to manage a chemical spill, you need to create firm response procedures.
Operating Procedures
Your spill response plan requirements include a broad range of factors, that we’ll discuss in further detail below.
Notifying Personnel and the Spill Response Team
Notifying all workers and contractors in the spill area is necessary for the safety of your team. The spill response team, who are trained to deal with the spilled materials, will be called into action.
Isolating the Area
Isolating the spill area and keeping people away from the contaminated site is an important part of your spill response. Your spill response is to ensure the safety of your site, so the area should be isolated so that no staff, equipment, vehicles or incompatible materials are brought into the area — as this could create a further hazard.
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment which is specifically for use with the type of spilled substance should be readily available for the spill response team. Depending on the hazardous material that has been released, the personal protective equipment may include breathing apparatus, eyewear, footwear and protective clothing.
Assessing Hazards
The safety data sheets that apply to the spilled substances must be referred to when assessing hazards. For example, if the chemicals are flammable or could react with other substances, you need to turn off machinery, as well as any heat and ignition sources.
An assessment must also be made to determine the amount of hazardous vapours, so authorised staff can maximise ventilation in the area, if safe to do so. Your initial risk assessment and a solid understanding of the safety data sheets at your site, will assist in a prompt hazard assessment.
Stop the Spill
Staff must quickly access the chemical spill kits to obtain the correct absorbents. Using the appropriate absorbent materials, staff need to stop the spill at its source. This may involve plugging equipment or leaking compounds, so that the spill won’t increase in size.
Use Neutralisers if Required
The process of neutralising acids — or other extremely dangerous chemicals, such as mercury — is essential for safety when cleaning up such a spill. Again, you need to understand the chemical’s properties and hazards (detailed in your safety data sheets) to determine if neutralisers are necessary during an emergency spill response.
Containment
Containment of the spill can be achieved by placing booms, matting or other physical barriers around the site. Your spill control materials must be chemically compatible with the substance that has been released.
Your containment of the spillage should prevent the hazardous materials from spreading further through the workplace or out into the environment. Pay particular attention to open drains, as chemicals can quickly travel down drains into waterways.
Cleaning
Decontaminating and cleaning the spill site is necessary for the safety of your staff and organisation. Any residue or vapours that remain at the site have the potential to create chemical hazards. Cleaning may involve wiping down walls, floors, ceilings, storage areas, equipment and more.
Hazardous Waste Disposal
As part of your WHS obligations, any spillage and resulting effluent, must be safely contained and disposed of. You must utilise the appropriate waste disposal methods that apply to your region to safely dispose of hazardous waste. Failure to do so could create further hazards during the waste disposal process, such as fires or toxic vapours.
Reporting
The final step in your spill response is to report the incident and try to develop measures so that the likelihood or impact of it occurring again are minimised. Detailed reporting should be followed up with a meeting to discuss possible changes to work procedures, storage equipment, handling equipment and other factors that can improve safety at your site. Corrective actions will assist in minimising the likelihood of a similar spill incident.
How Would You Respond To A Hazardous Chemical Spill?
Managing chemical spills can be a difficult task, however, developing a safe, comprehensive and effective chemical spill response plan will help you maintain safety and compliance.
If you’d like to prevent accidental releases from occurring in your business in the first place, you need to implement the correct bunding. Bunding, bunded storage and bunded handling equipment can greatly increase the safety and efficiency of your operations. Why not grab a free copy of our bunding guide to help you meet your compliance obligations?
