Spill Prevention and Control

Today's article will be about the prevention of spills occurring as well as how to control them.  We were given a packet to reference from so that will be my min source of information for this article.  So, as you can guess spill prevention is pretty self explanatory.  However, to make sure that it does not occur, there are a lot of areas tat must be checked and kept up with to make sure that an accident does not happen.  For example, the containers where hazardous waste and substances are being stored must be properly sealed, and in compliance to hold the materials within.  You don't want to have a corrosive substance in the wrong container because it will eventually make its way through the container due to its chemical properties.  Then you have a mess and hazard situation on your hands and if there are other chemicals and hazardous materials around, you may be in an area with a high health and safety hazard.  Every container should be CLOSED, and there should be the appropriate signage to indicate what is in the container.  Something like "FLAMMABLE" or "HAZARDOUS" or "HAZARDOUS WASTE" signs would be appropriate.  The site http://www.labmanager.com/lab-health-and-safety/2010/07/preventing-chemical-spills?fw1pk=2#.Vxk4pDjmqP8 has a few tips as well on how to prevent some spills that happen frequently.  A few examples are to place chemicals in the hood to reduce the risk of knocking them over, and also to use absorbent liners at the workbench where the chemicals are being used.  Another important thing to know is that chemicals that are being stored in quantities more than 55 gallons should be stored in a secondary container, but this can be used for any sort of chemical or substance that has a high chance of getting spilled or leaked into the environment.  In order to make sure that containers are holding chemicals and substances properly, the containers need to be easily accessible by personnel who are going to be inspecting them.  It is also good to know that you should not fill drums of chemicals to the very top.  There should be at least four inches of space from the top of the container to the top of the chemical in the container.  This will prevent and drips or spills if it is to be transported for any reason.  According to the site https://www.wright.edu/facilities-management-and-services/environmental-health-and-safety/article/preventing-chemical-spills-in-the-lab , it can also be helpful to conduct a lab as low to the ground as possible, that way if any lab equipment is dropped it may be low enough where it does not crack and leak, creating a potential hazard.  Also, this site says that simply knowing and having a good understanding of the chemicals you are working with can be very important because if there is a spill, knowing how to properly dispose and clean it up quickly can prevent the spill from becoming a very dangerous situation.  Employees need to be trained for handling hazardous substances as well, and this includes emergency response procedures as well as the spill prevention component of these chemicals.  The equipment needed in order to clean up a spill should be easily accessible and employees should know where it is located at all times.  These kits should be equipped with the necessary tools needed to clean up the respective chemicals; you don't want a spill kit on site that has equipment needed to clean up a different chemical.  I hope this article was helpful in providing some information about spill prevention and control.