Spill kit, chemical spill kit or chemical spill cleanup kit – whatever you want to call it, your kit is an essential tool to assist with the cleanup, decontamination, and disposal of waste in the event of a hazardous chemical spill.
Spill kits are an assembly of various materials and tools which will aid the clean up of a chemical leak or spill.
There are a wide range of spill kits on the market, to suit all types of hazardous chemicals in various quantities.
Some commonly used types of spill kits include:
General purpose spill kits – these kits can be used for a wide range of purposes including the cleanup of any liquid (ie. blood, flood waters, sewage) or chemical product (whether it’s classed as hazardous or not). However, as they are a universal kit, they may require customization depending on the type of chemicals that your workplace is carrying.
Chemical spill kits – the chemical spill kit or HAZCHEM spill kit is designed to contain, neutralize and clean away spills from most types of hazardous chemicals. These kits will allow staff to provide a rapid response to any hazardous chemical spill or leak in the workplace, including solvents, paints, acids or pesticides.
Oil and fuel kits – when organizations are cleaning up oil and fuel spills, it’s important to minimize the risk that these flammable liquids pose. Therefore, the oil and fuel kits (otherwise known as hydrocarbon kits) are specifically designed to combat a flammable liquids spill.
REMEMBER: As part of your Incident Management Plan, you must have spill kits onsite that are compatible with the class of chemicals that you’re carrying. They must also be suitable for the quantity of hazardous chemicals that may be released during a spill.
