Flood and Leak Protection

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Floods and leaks can have devastating effects on homes and offices. So recently at Spill Control Centre we have added products that will help with combatting these problems.

Every year in the UK, 5 million people are at risk of flooding whether that be from surface water flooding or flooding caused by waterways, such as rivers overflowing. To combat this people use sandbags as a first line of defence which can help up to a certain point.

As an alternative, at Spill Control Centre, we have launched the OSMO flood barrier, which is available in 2 sizes: 1.5m x 210mm and 3.0m x 210mm. OSMO flood barriers are made with non-toxic and non-hazardous materials which are 50% reclaimed. They have excellent absorbency and can be stacked just like sandbags and even moulded around obstacles, such as ledges and doors. They are the ideal product for the entrance to a home or business. When in place they inflate within minutes of coming in to contact with water. When fully inflated they will create a strong, watertight and leakproof barrier. See the video below on how they work.

The other half of our new range is leak protection equipment and we have some great products for dealing with leaky roofs and pipes.

We have Roof Drip Diverters available in 6 sizes, with 3 of these sizes provided as a kit containing all you need to get up and running straight away. Roof drip diverters are made with yellow lightweight vinyl coated fabric. They are easy to install to ceilings with rubber straps or bungee cords, which need to be bought separately if you aren’t buying a kit.

When attached to the ceiling you can attach a 7.6m drainage hose (purchased separately unless buying a kit) and divert any leak from your roof down the hose to a nearby drainage system. As well as diverting drips and leaks it also keeps your office or home safe from slip hazards and protects equipment and belongings from damage.

We also have products that wrap around pipes which are leaking oil, chemicals and gases. We have the Quick Wrap Pipe Repair Bandage which is available in 4 sizes and doesn’t need any mixing or measuring, just place in water for 10 seconds and within 10 minutes it will have set.

strap it leak stopper and quick wrap pipe repair bandage

The Strap it Leak Stopper will seal leaks under pressure, which avoids the need for a system shutdown. It’s easily secured with Velcro and can be used multiple times!

If you would like to discuss these products any further be sure to call us on 01724 281044 or talk to one of our sales team on our live chat service!

Getting to Know our Spill Kits

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What is a Spill Kit?

Spill kits are a selection of absorbent products which come in an easy to use package and specialise in clearing up a particular type of spill. We have a range of spill kits for water, oil, chemicals, ADR and bodily fluids. There are multiple sizes available for combatting spills and all sizes have their part to play in keeping an area safe from potentially dangerous liquids.

Depending on your working environment you will need to find the best one for you. For example, if you work in a large space which deals with oils and fuels all day then a larger, transportable oil spill kit may be the best for you.

Spill Kits

Types of Spill Kits

Across our range of spill kits there are multiple styles depending on the environment, workplace or budget. The smallest size that we have available across water, oil and chemical spill kits is a 15 litre spill kit. These absorb up to 15 litres of the relevant liquid with our largest kit going all the way up to 1000 litres of absorbency.

Our kits come with items such as pads, socks, waste bags and ties, pillows, drum plugs, hazard tape, rolls, booms and a floor sign. These contents do not come in every kit and will vary depending on the purchased size. We also offer various ranges to suit different budgets with the Standard range going through to the Premier Extra range as well as having Sustainable ranges too.

See some example products below that are sold across the chemical, oil and water spill kit ranges.

Product	Available For	Absorbency	Contents
Premier Extra 15 litre Spill Kit – Clip Top Carrier	Water Oil Chemical	15 Litres	· 10 Pads · 1 Sock · 2 Waste Bags and Ties
Premier Extra 50 litre Spill Kit – Vinyl Holdall	Water Oil Chemical	50 Litres	· 30 Pads · 3 Socks · 3 Pillows · 5 Waste Bags and Ties
90 litre Spill Kit – Static Bin	Water Oil Chemical	90 Litres	· 48 Pads · 8 Socks · 1 Drum Plug · 1 Hazard Tape · 10 Waste Bags and Ties
Premier Extra 240 litre Spill Kit – Wheeled Bin	Water Oil Chemical	240 Litres	· 150 Pads · 4 Socks · 10 Pillows · 1 Floor Sign · 1 Hazard Tape · 18 Waste Bags and Ties
Premier Extra 600 litre Spill Kit – Drop Front Bin	Water Oil Chemical	600 Litres	· 190 Pads · 20 Socks · 4 Booms · 16 Pillows · 1 Floor Sign · 1 Hazard Tape · 40 Waste Bags and Ties
Premier Extra 1000 litre Spill Kit – Drop Front Bin	Water Oil Chemical	1000 litres	· 300 Pads · 6 Socks · 2 Rolls · 16 Pillows · 6 Booms (3 in oil spill kit) · 1 Floor Sign · 1 Hazard Tape · 60 Waste Bags and Ties

As well as water, chemical and oil spill kits we have a range of spill kits for body fluids and ADR. Our body fluid spill kits come with body fluid absorbent granules, which can absorb up to 1 litre of fluid and disinfectant spray. You can buy anything from a single bag of granules up to a full kit which includes 10x granules and 10x disinfectant spray, allowing for 10 applications. The body fluid spill kits can be used on most surfaces and are ideal for schools, nurseries, nightclubs and pubs.

ADR spill kits are ideal for vehicles and they help with protecting the user, the public and the environment if a spill was to occur. It contains socks, pads, cushions, sealing putty, waste bag and tie and a 20 litre polyethylene container. Our larger kit contains a polyethylene container, neoprene gloves, hi vis vest, drain mat and tube, eye wash (500ml), plastic shovel, torch, waste bag and tie, tradesman mask and a warning triangle as well as the standard socks, pads, cushions and sealing putty.

Spill Kits can be vital for businesses to ensure safety and respect for the environment. Call us on 01724 281044 to discuss your requirements and to get you started in protecting against damage caused by spills.

EnviroPad: the smart spill containment solution

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Oil spills can have severe consequences on the environment, but what dangers do they present in the workplace? Read on as we explore the potential hazards of oil spills and just how effective our new EnviroPad range is when it comes to spill containment.

If you’re unaware, oil is one of the most widespread and common pollutants in the UK. It’s used in large quantities in many different industries, and just a small amount can have lasting effects on the environment and wildlife – but what about in the workplace? It’s typical to find forklifts, trucks, and industrial equipment in warehouses and they depend on using oil and similar chemicals as fuel. If this is relevant to your business, then you’ll need a cost-effective spill containment solution that won’t let you down in case of a leak or spill.

You need to safeguard against these unfortunate, but likely, hazards by having solid procedures in place. If you don’t, then you’re automatically increasing the chances of workplace slips and falls. Not only that, but oil and other fuels are highly flammable and can catch fire if exposed to even the smallest of sparks. Can you avoid oil and fuel spills? Chances are, you can’t. You can safeguard against them and prepare for them, though.

The Guidance Note for the Control Of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001 recommends: “A stock of materials, such as sand or commercially available absorbent materials, gully seals and booms should be held on site to deal with spillages. If a spill does occur, immediate action should be taken to contain it and to prevent it from entering any drains or watercourses. Do not hose spillages down or use any detergents.”

Our newest range of products, the EnviroPad, can play a vital role in your spill prevention and clean-up plan. These mats utilise innovative, clever technology that turns hydrocarbons into a rubber-like mass, without a liner. They bond the oil and permanently immobilise it, which prevents the chance of further leakage.

EnviroPad

The EnviroPad helps catch a spill and eliminates the chance of slips and falls, as well as dramatically reducing the chance of polluting the environment. You can place pumps, generators, and other equipment on top of these mats in advance of a spill, or deploy them once a spill occurs.

Five reasons you should use an EnviroPad

Cost-effective spill containment: no additional liners needed
Pollutants are removed to non-detectable levels in no time at all
Lightweight and durable with no bulky walls
Entirely suitable for use indoors and outdoors, water is harmlessly repelled
Available in three sizes to suit your specific requirements

Ready to introduce the EnviroPad into your spill containment solution? Check out the range on our website or call a member of our friendly team on 01724 281044 and we’ll help find the right solution for you!

A layperson’s 10-point guide to spill control and absorbents

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Being prepared for workplace spills by having the right absorbents is less than half the battle. The remainder is in where they’re placed and how they’re used. Our 10-point guide to spill control and absorbents will point you in the right direction.

When it comes to spill control, the secret of success lies in the 80:20 rule, with preparation representing the lion’s share.

The consequences of poor preparation have just been highlighted by pollution of a two-mile stretch of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, where seven swans have been harmed by spilled diesel from an unknown source. It’s a perfect illustration of what can happen miles away from the spill. The diesel has got into the canal from one of its tributaries, which these days run underground, leaving the Environment Agency scratching its head about how to find the source of the problem.

Of course, you could go one step further, and say the eliminating spills completely would be the better option, with an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Until that happens, a strategy for cleaning up spills is as important as having the spill kits to clear them up with.

Spill kits and absorbents come in a range of types and sizes, each created to deal with specific kinds of spills. That variety of products should be the start point for developing your spill strategy.

10-point guide to spill control and absorbents

Spill control and absorbents: a 10-point guide

Start by working out what can spill, and where. This might be drips of oil from machinery, the catastrophic failure of a tank or pipework, or loss of chemicals during loading, unloading or decanting, for example.

Consider the quantities. Availability of a 1,000-litre berm would clearly be overkill in the event of body fluid spill. The products in spill kits and absorbents all indicate the volumes of liquid they can absorb for safe disposal later, and will guide buying decisions.

Match absorbents and spill kits to what may be spilled. Absorbents have particular qualities suited to particular kinds of spills to make them as effective as possible in particular situations; others are effective against a number of spills. Some products can differentiate between the liquids they come into contact with. This type of oil absorbent won’t absorb water, making it ideal for limiting oil spills on watercourses.

Choose multi-line defences. If oil is to be decanted regularly, for example, the first thing to consider is the way drums are stored, and keep them on bespoke pallets that have drip-containing sumps, like these. These trap small spills, and prevent them being spread, especially on workers’ footwear, making for a safer workplace. As such they form the first line of everyday defence against minor spills, and remove the need to deploy more substantial measures.

Put absorbents in dedicated storage close to where they’re likely to be most urgently needed. This will save time in the event of a spill.

Plan for collateral damage. Fines for environmental damage can be considerable, with the added burden of reputational damage further hurting your company’s bottom line. For this reason (and that it’s good practice too), having equipment such as drain protectors to hand will keep spilled liquids out of the wider environment.

Train the staff. One of the most effective tools in spill control is prompt action in deploying the right spill control measures. Make sure that, as well as knowing how best to handle liquids to prevent spills in the first place, employees are aware of how they should use the spill kits and absorbents you have provided. You might even consider spill control exercises, allowing employees to work with the materials provided to sharpen awareness and improve readiness. Consider incorporating spill control into induction procedures.

Provide protective clothing. Spill control is about damage limitation. Employees expected to clean up spills must be able to do so without personal risk, so the equipment you provide must have their welfare in mind, as well as providing necessary supporting equipment. The first is illustrated by the provision of latex gloves in body fluid spill kits; the second in the ancillary equipment that forms part of an ADR spill kit for spill control on the move.

Clean up responsibly. Absorbents used on any kind of spill may not be disposed of with general waste. Their disposal is governed by the same rules as for the material they’ve been used to pick up, so they must be disposed of in the same way.

Re-order. Lightning doesn’t strike twice, until it does. If you’ve been forced to use spill control products there’s now a chink in your spill control armour, so whatever you’ve used should be replaced without delay. Spill Control Centre offers same-day dispatch on a substantial part of the product range we hold in stock.

Picture: Curraheeshutter | Dreamstime

Things you can learn about your company from what it spends on oil spill clean up products

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Sherlock Holmes was famous for the deductions he was able to make from apparently unconnected facts – so now here’s your chance to do the same, by thinking about what you can deduce from the amount of money your company spends (or doesn’t spend) on oil spill clean up products…

The sums your employer spends on oil spill clean up products could be high or low, but either way they’ll tell you a lot about the company you work for – and maybe some home truths about yourself as well.

American good business campaigner Tom Peters summed it up when he said that dirty trays on an airliner might well be a sign that its engines weren’t properly maintained either.

But before we get into the detail, let’s consider the cost of not cleaning up an oil spill, which can be huge, on the emotional as well as financial front. A real-life example concerns the bakery worker who, in August last year, slipped and fell on a floor contaminated with oil and water. She banged her head on the floor and died in hospital the following day.

It’s fair to say that she wasn’t wearing company-approved footwear, and the shoes she had been wearing were a poor choice, but I have no doubt that’s of little comfort to her boss or the company owners. I’d suspect they spend a lot of time trying to answer the question ‘What if…?’ about cleaning up oil spills and enforcing the company’s clothing policies. And the amount of time and money spent on going through the courts hardly bears thinking about. The company would need to sell a lot of bread rolls to cover those bills, but it’s impossible to put a value on the human cost.

That’s an extreme example of the point I’m trying to make; that simple oil spills can turn out to be very expensive.

Oil Spill Clean Up Products

The deductions

Scenario 1: If your company doesn’t spend much on oil spill clean up products, perhaps it doesn’t need to because the workplace is clean, so there’s nothing to clean up. Possible deductions: Well-maintained machinery; well-trained workforce; infrequent spills; good company; secure future.

Scenario 2: But what if there’s a permanent sheen of oil on the floor, with workers slipping about the place like an industrial version of Dancing on Ice, and the company spends nothing on spill clean up products? Possible deductions: The company doesn’t care, and is running the risk of ending up like the bakery I mentioned earlier; ill-trained workforce; ill-maintained and old machinery; inefficiency; company not operating as cost-effectively as it might; long-term profitable future in doubt. All are possible, or it could be a combination of all of these factors.

Scenario 3: New oil spill clean up products are delivered almost daily; everyone knows how to use them correctly, and does so. Possible deductions: Oil spills caused by infrequent machine maintenance; sloppy working practices; money wasted; insufficient management focus on what’s important to efficient processes; willing but untrained workforce; company under pressure from better-organised competitors.

Scenario 4: Oil spill products available at strategic points around the factory, but very infrequent deliveries because the products are rarely used, in spite of oil on the floor. Possible deductions: Disinterested workforce; management short-sighted and out of touch; disjointed manufacturing process and control; company future at risk from financial impact of worker injury.

The actions

Scenario 1: Full marks; keep doing whatever you’re doing to the same high standard.

Scenario 2: Wake up and smell the coffee. Oil spills are signs that a business isn’t as good as it so easily could be, and you’ll eventually slip up – literally and metaphorically. If it’s your business, invest in some oil spill clean up products like these, and train people how to use them. If you’re an employee, show the boss this blog, and explain how you’d like to be trained about controlling oil spills and cleaning them up.

Scenario 3: Great, you’re cleaning up, but it’s time and money wasted. Work out why spills are happening in the first place. Getting to the root cause and eliminating spills will allow the business to be more efficient, and you can get on with what’s important – doing business, instead of lavishing time on side issues that are a drain on resources.

Scenario 4: This is a major training issue, and everyone in the company needs to shoulder some of the blame. Workers shouldn’t be spilling oil; managers shouldn’t be creating the situation that allows spills to continue unchecked. Time for a root and branch analysis of systems and procedures, and the introduction of measures to make the workplace clean and safe. It’ll improve the long-term balance sheet too, and workers need to understand why that’s important to them as much as the company.

Picture: Martin Mates | Dreamstime