Training cuts the cost
February 1st 2005

FREE Video – Spill Awareness and Control Fosse Liquitrol is offering a FREE video to the first 10 readers to respond to this article via the HSM website The video is a review of best practice procedures to prevent, control and clean-up spills. It contains information that considers the correct handling and storage of all types of liquids and illustrates the damage that can be done to the environment

Listing all the relevant regulations regarding spill prevention and best practice procedures, it also discusses secondary containment solutions and the correct storage and handling of all types of liquids

Correct methods to clear up spills and dispose of the cleaning materials effectively are demonstrated using actual products

A review of an emergency spill response ‘8 point plan’ completes all the procedures that should be adopted in order to ensure best practice and comply with the relevant regulations

Enter via: www.hsmsearch.com or for further information on other services or products available from Fosse Liquitrol please contact them on: Tel: 0870 224 7841

In 2002, there were over 30 000 substantiated pollution incidents in England and Wales. Action taken by the Environment Agency in the same year led to 1700 successful claims, leading to fines reaching a total of £3.65m. Appropriate training in spills prevention and response could drastically reduce both environmental damage and costs to businesses

Negligence in the use, storage or transport of liquids can lead to loss of product, bad publicity, clean up costs, fines and litigation expenses – all of which are potentially disastrous

The spillage of oils and hazardous liquids, even in extremely small quantities, can lead to not only personal injury but environmental damage. An empty 45-gallon drum contains, on average, one gallon of residual oil. This can spread to cover an area of water equivalent to two football pitches. One litre of spilled or leaked solvent is enough to contaminate 100 million litres of drinking water. Milk and orange juice can be 1000 times more destructive than raw sewage if added to river water – just one litre of milk can remove the oxygen content from 10 tons of river water, killing thousands of fish

Accidents, bad working practice, poor maintenance, inappropriate storage and leaking equipment can all cause a potentially hazardous spill. The Environment Agency recently reported that ammoniacal etching solution, spilled by workmen during the decommissioning of the vats in which it had been stored, caused a brook and river to turn blue. Instead of reporting the spill, the workmen had scraped up some of it and hosed the rest into the drain. About 19 kilometres of the brook and river were affected by raised copper concentrations, fish were killed over 2.1 kilometres and invertebrates over a distance of about 5 kilometres. The managing director and plant manager of the company found responsible for the pollution were fined a total of £9000 with £3000 costs

"The task of decommissioning the site and removing the bulk storage vats in which the waste had been stored was conducted by employees with little or no training or experience of such issues, with the full knowledge and consent of the managing director," said Environment Agency team leader, Mike Webley. After the hearing Mike Webley said: "This pollution would have been totally avoidable if the proper procedures had been put in place.” He added, "This prosecution confirms that the Agency will always take a strong line with polluters especially when negligence is a significant factor."

To limit the escape of hazardous products to the environment, training for all staff on best working practice, preventative solutions and how to deal with spills and leaks with sorbent products is crucial to organisations that use or store quantities of oils, chemicals and solvents

Fosse Liquitrol has just been awarded BSIF accreditation for its certificated Spill Prevention and Response Training Course. This course is carried out at a company’s premises, in the environment where any spill is likely to occur, can accommodate up to 12 people and lasts between two and two and a half hours

Miles Hillmann, managing director and founder of Fosse Liquitrol explains, “The course identifies hot spots, where trainees participate in the simulation of spills, deployment of equipment, spill response procedures and after-spill analysis. Spill prevention and control issues are discussed and a video highlights how easily environmental damage can be caused if staff are unaware of emergency procedures and equipment. All participants gain environmental awareness, knowledge of legislation and best working practise, emergency spill response skills and a certificate of attendance.”

Fosse Liquitrol has already implemented its training at several organisations. Within 24 hours of Spill Response Training, staff at Warburton’s bakery had to put what they had learned into practice. Four members of staff at the West Midlands location attended the training session. The next day, contractors working on the site put what they believed to be an empty drum into a skip. The drum still had some of its contents, and inevitably began to leak. Gary Warhurst, hygiene and stores manager, who had attended the training session, said, “We were delighted with the way the hygiene operatives coped with the situation and we are sure this was no small way as a result of the training”.

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