Cleanup of chemical spills can only be as effective as your advance planning and the response system you have in place for your business in the event of an incident. Your priority, before a spill occurs, should be to have the supplies you need to deal with the situation. During and after a spill, your focus should be on individual safety, spill containment and cleanup, and compliance with reporting regulations. Keep in mind the following pointers:
- Designate a Safety Leader
- Keep the Right Equipment On Hand
- Take Care of People First When a Spill is Discovered
- Control the Spill as Quickly as Possible
- Contain the Spread of the Spill
- Get Help from the Police to Control Traffic
- Report the Spill to Appropriate Authorities
- Begin Clean-up as soon as the Situation has been Stabilized
- Deactivate the Spill if Possible
Protection of water supplies where you store and mix agrichemicals or where you load and rinse equipment is a growing public concern. Whether you've operated with containment in place for some time or are just planning its installation, you won't get the full benefits of containment unless you conduct system inspections and environmental training. Employees should understand how ground water and surface water can be contaminated and the importance of keeping agrichemicals contained. A common misperception of secondary containment is that it only involves dikes built around liquid fertilizer and agrichemical tanks. But containment is meant to do much more than hold material following a tank failure. Tank failures are rare compared to the spills and leaks that occur while mixing, loading and unloading product, rinsing equipment, and storing bulk materials.
Containing Potential Spills and Leaks Your principal concerns are: