Spill cleanup

SOCKS AND PILLOWS

"I learned very quickly that people already know how to respond to spills wrong," says Bill Fradgley.

BY JENNIFER MCLAUGHLIN

Picture it. A forklift driver at your company's warehouse made that sharp corner near shipping and receiving and found a full drum in his path. Who left that drum there? You may ask the question, a little angrily, but that's not important right now. What is important is that one of the forks went through the drum and thereÕs a lime green substance dribbling out.

When something spills in the workplace you have to act quickly. "Time is really essential, until the area is secured," says Bill Fradgley, regional sales manager for 3M Canada and a hygienist. "The first thing he should do is turn the lift truck off," says Fradgley, since the truck has an ignition source and could be a serious fire hazard if the spilled liquid is flammable. Next, the worker should call for assistance, probably from his or her direct supervisor and others who are familiar with the substance and with cleaning up spills.

This team of people should work together to secure the area. "The first concerns are the health and safety of the workers and contamination to the environment," says Fradgley. Any sources of ignition and electrical equipment nearby should be turned off and locked out. Since the leaking material should have a WHMIS label (or a workplace label) it should be immediately apparent whether there is a potential fire hazard. If there is, the person in charge has to make some quick judgements about the potential scale of the hazard. One worker should have a fire extinguisher on hand during the cleanup just in case, says Fradgley. If it looks more serious, calling in the workplace fire team or the local fire department may be appropriate.

Whenever there are hazardous materials involved, staff in the area should already have received WHMIS training. If there's any uncertainty, workers can read over the material safety data sheets and make sure that they have the right personal protective equipment to handle the spill and the right spill cleanup products for the job.

If possible, the team should attempt to stop the drum from leaking. "If it is safe to turn the drum on its side with the hole facing up, then do it," says Jim Skeoch, national sales manager for Can-Ross Environmental Services. "It may not be safe if it is a particularly volatile substance, a strong caustic or a strong acid."

Workers not involved in the cleanup process should be evacuated and those in nearby areas should be alerted to the spill so that they keep away from the area. The spill should be roped off with yellow caution tape or something that workers will immediately identify as a hazard warning.

Depending on the size and location of the spill and the material involved, there are a number of priorities that may apply. Generally, stopping the leak is the first task, but, if a pool of hazardous substance is spreading along the floor toward a drain, containment may have to come first.

Cleanup supplies

After the immediate danger to workers is over and the spill is confined to the area where it was spilled, you've got some time, says Fradgley.

Any workplace that contains anything that could be spilled should be prepared (see "Implementing a plan"). That should include training as well as the supplies and equipment for dealing with whatever risk is present. In fact, it's safe to say that there is a containment or cleanup product for every need.

Overpack drums: Perhaps simpler than trying to repair a leaking drum, why not put the whole thing in a larger container? That's basically what "overpack" drums, also known as "salvage drums", are. A drain on the overpack can then be used to safely remove the liquid after the drum inside has emptied itself.

Spill pallets: Another handy piece of equipment is a "spill skid", a special, pallet-shaped container with a grating top onto which a leaking drum can be placed. Any material that leaks out of the container will be collected in the pallet.

Drum sealers: There are several types of products that can be used to stop a drum from leaking (until it can be safely emptied). There are patches that can be strapped onto a drum to seal a leak and even inflatable patches that can be put around the drum and inflated with an attached CO2 cylinder. The manufacturer says the re-useable, inflatable patch will seal a hole up to seven by two inches.

Repair putty: Then there's epoxy repair putty that can seal holes and cracks, and "all-purpose" patch kits that can be used to make emergency repairs involving hazardous materials. Sealants are particularly good for oil spills and will stay bonded to the drum for several days, says Skeoch, but should not be used for corrosive materials.

Repair kits: These include non-sparking tools, an assortment of plugs, patches and epoxy sealing putty, and allow for emergency repairs of all types of drums and tanks.

Drain plugs: Floor drains should be sealed off with airtight plugs so that none of the material enters the plant's drains or municipal sewers. There are various types available, including all-purpose plugs made of moldable material that can cover and seal off any floor drain.

Socks and booms: To contain a spill that may be spreading along the floor, begin by placing socks -- cylinder-shaped absorbents usually about three inches wide and four- or five-feet long that resemble stuffed socks -- around the spill to contain it. Larger spills may need a "boom", a five-inch by 10-foot absorbent. When attacking the spill, the workers should begin at the edge of the spill and work in, says Skeoch.

Pillows and pads: For the centre of the spill, sorbent pillows or pads can be used to pick up the bulk of the spill. Smaller pads and granular sorbents can be used in missed areas.

Granular sorbent: Many sorbent products are available in granular or powder form. They can be sprinkled on the spill to neutralize and/or soak it up. Many of these products are suitable for a wide variety of spilled materials. Check with the manufacturer or distributor to choose materials that are compatible with your needs.

Recovery bags: Once sorbents have been used to collect a spill, they take on the characteristics of the hazardous material. The used sorbents must be placed in a protective bag while awaiting proper, safe disposal.

Neutralizer: For caustics and acids, neutralizing the substance is a good idea, since it makes the spill easier for workers to handle and dispose of. When neutralization occurs, the acid or caustic materials react, often giving off large amounts of gas. For very strong or concentrated products, a violent reaction may occur. For this reason, most neutralizers are very weak and keep the reaction at a slow pace. Heat and gas will often be given off as the reaction takes place, so the proper precautions (recommended by the manufacturer of the neutralizer) should be used. Most neutralizers give an estimated amount of acid or caustic that their product will neutralize, and some have colour indicators to let you know when the spill is neutralized. Some products solidify the spill as it is neutralized into a crystallized or gel form.

Personal protective equipment: Many cleanups require personal protective equipment -- the material safety data sheet should specify exactly what's needed.

Spill products can be purchased from various suppliers as kits. There are kits designed specifically for each type of cleanup. The products can also be purchased individually so that plants can build their own spill kits, based on the substances in their workplaces and experience with spills. If an overpack drum is selected as part of the kit, the other products can be placed inside the drum. Wherever the spill kit is placed in the workplace, it should be clearly labeled so workers can get what they need quickly.

The Aftermath

Right after the spill has been cleaned up is the best time to determine its causes. What could have prevented the spill? Remember also to dispose of soiled cleanup products as hazardous waste. Once the products absorb the hazardous materials, they take on the properties of the materials. The sorbents should also be clearly labeled as hazardous and handled with the proper personal protective equipment until disposed. The spill kits should be restocked so that the workplace will be prepared for the next spill.

If the spill was not contained in the workplace and managed to reach a municipal sewer or drain before the cleanup precautions were in place, the spill has to be reported to authorities, says lawyer Robert Mansell. In some cases, the spills have to be reported municipally, provincially and federally.

The spill may also have to be reported to occupational health and safety authorities if the workers' health and safety was at risk because of the spill.

If a spill happens in the workplace, the workers need to act fast to keep it away from other workers and away from the environment. Workers need to have the knowledge and the spill control products necessary to clean up.

IMPLEMENTING A PLAN

Your workplace should never be ill-prepared for a spill. A spill plan should be in place and each person responsible for responding to a spill should be trained and prepared to handle the material. In order to be prepared, you need to do the following:

• Assess your workplace. Do an inspection focusing specifically on areas where hazardous materials are stored or handled. Are materials stored near sharp turns? Municipal sewer drains? Electrical equipment? Make sure measures to avoid and control spills are in place.

• Have spill kits readily accessible. "Do a 360-degree turn in the workplace and you should be able to find the fire extinguishers quickly. You may have a harder time trying to find the spill kits," says Bill Fradgley. Workers handling hazardous materials should know where spill kits are located. Also make sure that sorbents and neutralizers in the kit are appropriate to clean up whatever materials are present in the workplace.

• Do a spill drill. A spill drill is similar to a fire drill. When conducting a spill drill, Fradgley normally begins by spilling water on the plant floor. "I used to begin by teaching people the wrong way to clean up a spill," he says. "But I learned very quickly that people already know how to respond to spills wrong." He adds that usually the first thing people do after the water is spilled on the floor is wade into the spill to clean it up. "You don't want to be doing that with acids or caustics," Fradgley says. Treat the water as if it is corrosive or flammable and take the drill seriously.

• All workers responding to the spill should be comfortable handling the hazardous material and the cleanup process. Workers should not attempt to contain the spill if they are unfamiliar with the material or are unsure what the spilled material is.

• A worker should never attempt to contain the spill alone. Workers should also never attempt to contain a spill that they believe may endanger their health or is beyond their capabilities. Before a spill occurs, management and workers should determine what size and which materials the internal spill response team can contain and control themselves.

• Keep in mind that for different substances, there may be different levels of ability. "Workers may be able to contain 45 litres of hydraulic oil, but they definitely should not attempt to contain 45 litres of sulfuric acid," says Neil Pike, of Can-Ross.

• Have the phone number of a secondary response team available to workers in case they determine the spill is too large to control. (If the amount of material that could be spilled exceeds the plantÕs capacity to deal with it, an arrangement should be in place with a "hazmat" service provider, or a local emergency response team.)

• After the spill, dispose of the soiled cleanup products properly. "The expired sorbents and clean-up products take on the characteristics of the hazardous materials," says Fradgley. The products need to be clearly labeled and disposed of according to the rules for hazardous waste.

• After the spill, assess what happened. How could the spill have been avoided? Are there changes in operating procedures that will prevent a similar spill from occurring? Did the spill cleanup plan work as it did in the spill drill? How can the spill responders be more prepared?

• Record all events. "A fire in a garbage bin can be controlled quickly but should be recorded," says Fradgley. "If this is the third fire this week, then you have to look at changing procedures. If it's the first fire in five years, you probably don't have a problem."

• Restock the cleanup supplies immediately. If another spill occurs, you want to be prepared.

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