Canadian Occupational Safety

E mployees at a company in Alberta were moving a large tote of paint around a park- ing lot when, minutes later, a thousand litres were spilled. "They didn't have it properly secured on the fork- lift when they were moving it around in the parking lot, and it fell off," says Dean May, vice-president of operations at Mayken Hazmat Solutions, the Ches- termere, Alta.-based company called in to clean up the spill. "They phoned me. My main concern was to contain it, so it didn't go into the waterways or storm drains. It was bit of a mess." Chemicals and fuels are essential tools in man- ufacturing facilities, factories, warehouses and construction sites. No matter what precautions are taken, spills and leaks of hazardous materials will happen and, depending on the chemical, small spills can cause as much damage as large ones. Many of these substances are toxic or corrosive and can cause severe injuries or death. Volatile substances can cause a fi re or explosion or caustic materials can lead to chemical burns that will eat through skin. Of course, any liquid chemical spilled on a fl oor will present a slip and trip hazard. Any company that transports, stores or handles chemicals must be prepared to respond to a spill in a way that ensures materials are properly cleaned up and workers are not injured. Brampton, Ont.-based DSV Solutions manages aspects of the supply chain for a variety of manu- facturers across Canada. Rodolfo Chacon, general manager at the company's warehouse in London, Ont., which handles large quantities of chemicals, mostly acids, oxidizers and fl ammables, says it has to be prepared to handle different kinds of spills and its spill response plan is a rigorous one. The fi rst part of the plan deals with prevention. A key part is proper warehouse storage. It's important to segregate materials that, if mixed, could react together and produce harmful vapours, or even fi re or explosion, and injure workers. themselves, based on type and size. If their own team cannot handle the spill, the facility must be evacu- ated and a third-party company certifi ed to clean up and dispose of dangerous materials is called in. "If you're dealing with an oxidizer, the proper procedure in 99 per cent of cases is just to evacu- ate. The problem with oxidizers is that they react to everything. If it releases to the fl oor and there is another reactive factor on the fl oor, it could create a cloud. They can produce gases that are quite toxic. So, usually we just initiate our evacuation plan," says Chacon. CLEAN UP With general chemical spills, the cleanup starts with putting a commercial absorbent onto the spill. These absorbents, which can be used for most liquid chemical spills, come in different types. The most common one is a general chemical absorbent mate- rial that is designed to soak up almost anything. Other absorbents are more specifi c to the type of product to be absorbed. "The absorbent we use has an absorbent capacity of 101, which means 1 kilogram of absorbent mate- rial is equivalent to 1 litre of the material that you have on the fl oor. You can get into more expensive ones that can absorb two, three, fi ve times more, so you have less absorbent on the fl oor and it will do the job better." The absorbent takes time to completely absorb the chemical: one reason it's important to create the perimeter wall fi rst. With corrosives spills, neutralizing agents are used. Weak acids — acids that don't ionize fully when dissolved in water, such as acetic acid — should be used to neutralize bases (such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide). Weak bases should be used to neutralize acids (such as hydro- chloric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid). While neutralizing acids and bases makes them safer to handle, it is important to work slowly, says Norman Nibber, professor of engineering safety and risk management, David Lynch School of Engi- neering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. "Neutralization liberates a lot of energy, espe- cially with the acids. So you need to be very careful. Comprehensive spill response plan necessary to protect workers, environment from hazardous spills, leaks By Linda Johnson a way that ensures materials are properly cleaned up and workers are not injured. Brampton, Ont.-based DSV Solutions manages aspects of the supply chain for a variety of manu- facturers across Canada. Rodolfo Chacon, general manager at the company's warehouse in London, Ont., which handles large quantities of chemicals, mostly acids, oxidizers and fl ammables, says it has to be prepared to handle different kinds of spills and its spill response plan is a rigorous one. The fi rst part of the plan deals with prevention. A key part is proper warehouse storage. It's important to segregate materials that, if mixed, could react together and produce harmful vapours, or even fi re or explosion, and injure workers. 22 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com "We have materials segregated by category: acids in one place; caustics in another; bleaches in another. You never have oxidizers and acids together. At one extreme of the warehouse are all my oxidizers and at the other extreme are my acids, so there is no way we are going to have a release of these two products together," says Chacon. In preparing for a spill, he says, training is the most important element. Workers need to be aware of the kinds of chemicals used at their workplace and well trained in the ones they handle in their specifi c jobs. Safety data sheets should be easily accessible. Everyone must know what to do in the event of an emergency, who the emergency contacts are and how to create a perimeter around the spill with an absorbent "snake," which is a long roll fi lled with absorbent fi bre. "You need to train and train again, until the staff has memorized what they need to do. This is a chem- ical warehouse and we must always be ready for the worst scenario," Chacon says. Spill stations are a key part of preparation. The stations are equipped with all materials needed to deal with the types of spills that could happen; for example, absorbent snakes and pads, instructions, manuals and required personal protective equip- ment, such as safety gloves, goggles, face shields and masks. DSV has six or seven chemical spill sta- tions across the warehouse. "You need to make sure stations are really close to where any spill could happen. So I have a spill sta- tion in the receiving area, at the shipping area and more spill stations across the warehouse. It makes it easy for any of the team members to access the proper PPE or the absorbent material they need to deal with a spill." CONTAIN When a spill occurs inside the warehouse, workers must notify a supervisor, Chacon says. They should immediately start putting the snake down around the spill, taking care not to come in contact with the chemical. The snake acts as an absorbent wall to con- tain it and prevent it spreading to other materials. An emergency team assesses the situation. They fi rst determine whether they can manage the spill themselves, based on type and size. If their own team cannot handle the spill, the facility must be evacu- ated and a third-party company certifi ed to clean up and dispose of dangerous materials is called in. "If you're dealing with an oxidizer, the proper procedure in 99 per cent of cases is just to evacu- ate. The problem with oxidizers is that they react to everything. If it releases to the fl oor and there is Comprehensive spill response plan necessary to protect workers, environment from hazardous "We have materials segregated by category: acids in one place; caustics in another; bleaches in another. You never have oxidizers and acids together. At one extreme of the warehouse are all my oxidizers and at the other extreme are my acids, so there is no way we are going to have a release of these two products together," says Chacon. In preparing for a spill, he says, training is the CONTAIN When a spill occurs inside the warehouse, workers CLEAN UP With general chemical spills, the cleanup starts

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