If you use hazardous substances or store oils or fuels on-site at your facility, you need to be prepared to respond appropriately to a release. Having a written plan is your company’s first step to protecting human health, the environment, and your company’s assets from the aftermath of a spill.
Not all of your employees are qualified to clean up all releases. Training may be required if there are potential risks. Choosing the correct level of training and the right people to train is essential to maximizing your facility’s spill preparedness. Read more about spill response teams here.
Spill planning and reporting can be subject to rules from multiple agencies, depending on what spilled, where the spill happened, and whether it leaves your property.
Which Plan Does My Facility Need?
Where do I Start?
You can start by assessing your facility’s spill potential. Take an inventory of the chemical products at your facility. You will want to include some details in your assessment such as the related hazards of each product, the amount you store on-site, the biggest container, and where these are stored and used in relation to employee workstations and other operations at the facility. This assessment may already be incorporated into your written plans.
Ask yourself these questions:
Based on your answers, choose the level of spill response training that best suits your needs…continue by reading Cheryl Moran’s article on spill response training.
