Spill Control Basics – The Importance of Chemical Spill Kits

27 February 2024 by CSG

Knowing about spill control and chemical spill kits is important if your business deals with chemicals. Every year, industries use thousands of chemicals in their processes – it could be anything from aeroplane production to handbag manufacturing. This blog will help you understand various types of chemical spill kits. If you already know what you need, explore our spill control product brochure by clicking here today.

In the UK, there are laws that protect land, water, air, wildlife and people from pollution. If you or your company is the cause of chemical pollution, then you could be committing a criminal offence. Pollution penalties may include fines, imprisonment, and expenses related to cleaning up, remediation, and addressing the damage caused by a spill.

Accidents can still happen even if you have secure chemical storage and practice proper handling. For this reason, we’d like to advise you on why a good spill response plan can be vital in minimising the damage from a chemical spill and the role that spill kits play. We hope our guide will help you understand why a good spill response plan combined with the use of spill kits can be vital in minimising the damage from a chemical spill.

If a chemical spill occurs, the first thing you should do is stop what you’re doing and aim to eliminate the source of the spill – if it is safe to do so. Remove ignition sources and use natural ventilation to prevent the accumulation of dangerous gases.

The best way to contain a spill is by using a spill kit. If a kit isn’t available, you can use sand or earth to create a temporary bund to contain a spill. Your main goal is to prevent the spill from entering the environment which typically occurs through unsurfaced ground or down your drains.

What is a spill kit?

A spill kit, also known as a chemical spill cleanup kit or absorbent spill kit is an essential tool to assist with the decontamination, clean–up and disposal of waste in the event of a spill.

Spill kits are an assembly of various materials to aid the cleanup of a chemical leak or spill. A wide range of spill kits are available on the market depending on your business needs. We offer various kits for different chemical types and quantities for different use cases.

Want to know more about using a spill kit? We have included this informative video from Solutions Pest & Lawn for you to watch here:

What are the different types of spill kits?

Depending on your business needs, there are a variety of different kits available. Each is tailored to the types of spills you are likely to encounter at your site. These include:

1. Fuel and oil spill kits

When you are cleaning up fuel and oil spills, it’s important to minimise the risk that these flammable liquids can pose. These specially designed kits are used to clean up hydrocarbon, solvent and any other organic liquid spills. These kits are typically blue in colour.

The stand-out feature is the hydrophobic nature of the absorbent material. If there is a spill and groundwater gets contaminated, the absorbents will only soak up the hydrocarbon, not the water. This helps to minimise the amount of absorbents required. They can even float on water just like oil would if it managed to contaminate a waterway.

2. Chemical spill kits

Chemical spill kits deal with spills that contain corrosive chemicals and other hazardous liquids. They typically are yellow in colour. These kits will allow you to provide a rapid response to any hazardous chemical spill or leak in the workplace including solvents, paints, acids, or pesticides.

3. Maintenance spill kits

These universal spill kits are used in the clean-up of non-corrosive liquid spills, hydrocarbons, solvents, and other aqueous liquid spills. They are typically grey in colour. Due to their universal nature, they may require customisation depending on the type of chemicals that your workplace is using. These kits aren’t hydrophobic so they will also absorb surface water unlike fuel or oil spill kits.

4. Antistatic spill kits

These are used to clean up spills of highly flammable, non-aqueous liquids where there is a risk of fire or explosion caused by a static charge. Storage containers are equipped with an earthing strip to maintain safety when disposing of the used kit. They are typically white in colour.

5. Other useful equipment

Dammit leak sealing putty and mats are another example of useful spill kit equipment to consider. The putty can instantly seal leaks on any non-flexible surface without any preparation. The mats are ideal for containing a spill by preventing it from entering your drains. These highly versatile tools, made from reinforced clay, can fit many different drain types.

CSG offers all the spill kits listed above in a range of shapes and sizes to fit your business needs. We also supply other spill control equipment such as drum/IBC bunds to further reduce the risk of environmental contamination. All kits are made in accordance with BS 7959 part 3 and will aid you and your company in safely clearing up and containing a spill. You can see our comprehensive spill kit brochure here.

For your convenience, we have created a simple guide of common liquids and chemicals to see which spill kit you require in the event of a spill:

What is in a spill kit?

Spill kits are ready-made packs of items to contain and clean up a chemical spill. There are many different types.

Your spill kit may include items such as:

• Absorbent materials to soak up the chemical such as absorbent socks.
• Containment booms for spillage control.
• Containers or bins to place the waste spilt chemicals and used absorbents.
• Waste disposal bags for contaminated waste disposal.
• Gloves and PPE to safeguard workers.
• Equipment to assist with spill clean-up such as brooms, shovels, or scoops.

Why are spill kits important?

Effective spill control measures are essential for minimizing the impact of a spill, including prompt containment and proper cleanup procedures. Spill clean-up and remediation can be costly, but the sooner a spill is cleaned up the cheaper the overall cost. Spill kits allow you to contain and clean up a spill immediately preventing a larger, more costly issue where the Environment Agency could get involved.

Chemical spill kits also reassure employees, making sure they have a safe working environment. This is because they know that if needed, they can protect themselves and others at work if an accident were to occur.

If a spill isn’t correctly cleaned up, this can also lead to adverse environmental effects. These include:

• Risks to human health – Large spills can cause immediate dangers to people in the workplace and the local community.  Inhaling fumes or coming into contact with the spill could cause serious injuries
• Bioaccumulation – Occurs when the body gradually accumulates certain chemicals in its tissues and fluids over time due to exposure. Such prolonged accumulation poses a risk of causing lasting harm to people or wildlife.
• Soil contamination – The spill could contaminate crops and plants creating risks to human health if these contaminated crops are consumed. Wildlife can also be put at risk because of habitat destruction.
• Pollution to water sources – Groundwater is used for crop irrigation and drinking water for people and animals. If water is consumed that is contaminated with chemicals from a spill it can be severely harmful to health depending on the chemical and concentrations.
• Damage to marine ecosystems – Once your spilled chemical reaches a water source it can quickly reach the ocean. It can then continue to harm wildlife with the effects becoming more widespread.

So how do I get equipped to deal with a spill?

First, we’d advise you to head over to our website here and sign up for our emergency spill hotline. Our service operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, nationwide to give our clients peace of mind that when an incident occurs, there is a prompt and reliable solution.

Secondly, make sure you’re stocked up on spill kits! CSG’s full brochure can be found here and you can place an order by contacting us on our website page or by phoning 0800 011 6600. If you’ve got any more spill-related questions, our friendly technical sales team will be more than happy to help give you peace of mind!