Oil, fuel and diesel do not wait for a ‘good’ time to spill or leak. When a slick flows across a workshop’s floor, or a drum falls over in a decant bay, or a leak moves toward a stormwater drain, safety hazards and environmental issues need to be handled at the same time. The best way to plan your spill kit around your environment (for example) involves 3 things: your liquids, your surfaces, and your worst-case scenario.
Oil-only absorbents are synthetic and will repel water while absorbing only oil and fuels. Water will not affect their ability to work, and they will float on the surface of the water while pulling the slick up with them and leaving the water clean under them.
Oils and fuels are classified as dangerous goods (Class 3). According to AS1940:2017, wherever flammable and/or combustible liquids are kept, dispensed or moved, the best oil spill kit must be readily accessible. It is not an option.
What Should the Best Oil Spill Kit Contain?
You should be able to prevent, absorb, and clean up a spill without improvising if you have a proper kit available. Look for items such as:
- Oil-only absorbent pads and guides to place beneath leaking machinery
- Booms and socks to ring around a spill and to help contain the spread of the spill
- Loose floorsweep to use on corners and rough surfaces
- Gloves and safety glasses
- Clearly labelled disposal bags, cable ties, and an audit tag indicating if the kit has been used.
You should be able to identify compliance markings on acceptable kits. Kits that comply have been independently tested to BS7959 and provide an actual, not estimated, result for their absorbency. No marks mean no compliance documentation.
What Should Be The Size of an Oil Spill Kit?
Size your kit for the worst-case scenario, not the average day. A UTE or truck with just one 20-litre barrel of liquid may be able to use a small 20 to 40-litre kit.
A busy decanting area where there are multiple 205-litre oil storage tanks will require more than just one 20-litre kit, ranging from 20 litres to 770 litres. Larger permanent units would be required for outdoor or industrial sites.
For example: Place 4 x 205-litre drums for your hydraulics at the shop. Think ‘one will leak completely; no drips’, so if you are considering a 240-litre kit, that gives you plenty of safety margin.
Conclusion
The right choice is simple, oil-only absorbent spill kits that are suitable for your surfaces and water, compliant capacity that you can prove and the tools to act quickly. If you’re able to get those three things correct, your spill will be a quick cleanup and not a reportable incident.
For assistance in determining the size of your kit or to arrange an audit on site, contact Spill Station for a compliant product that can fit your business operations.