The chemical spill clean up process is the emergency procedure where spilled chemical liquid waste is safely cleaned up and disposed of. This is especially important if hazardous chemical waste is spilled.
There is a general protocol that waste management companies follow when it comes to emergency spill situations. Emergency Spill Response is the procedures and practices followed to safely clean and decontaminate a spill site. Chemical spills follow many of the same general practices.
This blog explores the chemical spill clean up processes that many waste management companies and emergency spill response teams follow. It also outlines what people can do if they find themselves in these situations.
What is a Chemical Spill?
A chemical spill occurs whenever chemical liquids are spilled from their storage containers into the surrounding environment. They can cause damage to the environment and harm to human health. Attending to emergency chemical spills as soon as possible is essential.
Chemical spills happen for a variety of reasons. However, the main reason tends to be because liquids have a tendency to spill. Spill situations can happen even if all the safety protocols are followed. This means that having an emergency spill procedure in place is vital.
Additionally, even if the liquid substance is non-hazardous, they must still be cleaned up as soon as possible. This is because non-hazardous chemicals can become hazardous overtime. Contacting an emergency spill team will help to prevent unwanted and unnecessary harm.
Why Is Chemical Spills Cleaning Important?
Chemical spills can cause major harm to both human health and the environment. This is true even if the spilled chemicals are non-hazardous. At the end of the day, liquid waste needs to be cleaned and disposed of safely whenever it is spilled.
The chemical spill cleanup process uses items found in most spill kits. This includes spill control materials, absorbent materials, health and safety gear, spill pillows, as well as any other necessary spill response equipment.
Whether it is a major chemical spill or a minor chemical spill, fast response is essential in order to clean up the spill and remove hazardous waste from the spill area.
The Chemical Spill Clean Up Process
A good emergency spill response involves an eight-step process. Here are our suggestions for effectively and efficiently responding to an emergency spill situation.
- Assessment
- Wear Personal Protective Gear (PPE)
- Limit the Spill Radius
- Identify the Source
- Assess the Contaminated Area
- Clean the Area and its Surroundings
- Decontaminate the Spill Area
- Report and Audit
Let’s delve into these points in greater detail.
Evaluate the spill
The chemical spill response process begins with evaluating the spill area and the type of chemicals involved. Hazardous substances like mercury spills and other volatile toxic compounds need to be identified as soon as possible.
Additionally, choosing the appropriate absorbent materials and the appropriate spill kit requires an understanding of what was spilled and what the surrounding environment is.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn at all times whenever dealing with chemical spills. This is regardless of whether the spill material contains hazardous chemicals, flammable liquids, or other potentially harmful substances.
Personal protective equipment helps to prevent potential harm to human health. Whether working with a major spill or minor spill, the spill cleanup procedures must start by ensuring that personal protective equipment is worn.
Restrict the Spill’s Range
A chemical spill can contaminate its surrounding areas. Because of this, absorbent materials and other spill control materials must be placed as soon as possible in order to minimise the spills area and range.
Managing contaminated waste from spilled liquids across the entire spill area must be part of the spill response plan. Not only does spill containment restrict further spread, but it also makes the cleanup process far more manageable.
Locate and Halt the Spill’s Source
Identifying and stopping the source of a spill needs to be done as soon as possible. Stopping the source using spill control materials ensures that further contamination does not occur.
Additionally, flammable liquids pose an immediately dangerous threat to both humans and environmental health and safety. Stopping this initially greatly reduces the risk of harm during the spill cleanup process.
Cleanup the Area
Emergency spill kits and other spill control materials should be used to clean and cleanse the area where the spill occurred. This involves the removal of hazardous substances and to neutralise the spill residue.
Emergency spill kits are an essential part of this process. Unfortunately many conventional cleaning products just don’t get the job done right. For more information on spill kits, be sure to read our blog Emergency Spill Kits: Key Information and Essential Items.
Assess the Contaminated Items
Contaminated waste is a natural byproduct of a chemical spill situation. Whenever a spill occurs, spilled chemicals are bound to be created. Managing contaminated materials is part of the process.
Contaminated clothing, for instance, can occur even with a small spill situation. Additionally, clothing worn by laboratory personnel, appropriate absorbent material, and other spill cleanup materials are likely to become contaminated by the spills hazardous chemicals.
Decontaminate the Area
Provide adequate decontamination tools to remove any hazardous substance from the spill area. This includes removing flammable liquids and flammable chemicals, and other hazardous waste from the spill area.
The decontamination process often involves more than just removing the waste from the site. Many neutralisation processes are available when managing hazardous waste from spilled chemicals.
Prepare a Report for Future Prevention
Spill occurs almost whenever liquid materials are involved. For this reason, it is essential for anyone working with liquids to plan for a spill situation. This process should also be done after a spill has occurred in order to manage future incidents.
This involves writing and maintaining material safety data sheets about potential chemical exposures. Additionally, the hazards posed by any stored chemicals must be understood in case a spill were to occur.
Emergency Spill Response
Cleanway’s emergency spill response team offers 24/7 emergency response services across Australia. Their waste management services are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Australia. Contact their emergency response team below.