HSSEQ Bulletin: Spill hazards and response

Do you know what to do if you have a spill at home or at work?

Emergency spill response is a critical aspect of our HSE program, however it’s just as important at home. If you truly care for the environment and your families safety, you need to be aware of the chemicals you have on hand and the impacts on your local environment.

Obviously, the best method to manage a chemical spill is to avoid having one in the first place. The key is to follow proper procedures for storing, transferring, handling, using, and disposing of chemicals and each individual chemical will differ in how you should respond to it.

Regardless of the level of hazard involved, there are some basic steps involved with dealing with spills around communicating the hazard, controlling the spill and disposing of contaminants.

Do you have a spill plan? If you don’t, get one. It will help you if a spill happens at home. Please ensure we practice drills for large events on site. We often forget about spills and focus on impacts to people, but some chemicals can kill you as quickly as a dropped object.

Use this prompt to look into your chemical inventory, check your spill response and update your plans and training both at home and at work.