Emergency spill response

Operations such as filling, dispensing and sampling should not be performed in the warehouse area. Provisions should be made for handling damaged or leaking containers. Section 9.6 addresses emergency spill response. 

An emergency spill response plan should reflect the operations, materials and quantities which are specific to that facility. Inventory should be maintained of all chemicals, and the quantity on site of each. Information on the hazardous characteristics of each chemical may be found on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), which are required by law to accompany the first chemical shipment. Appropriate responses will depend upon an evaluation of the hazards posed from release of the chemicals specific to each facility. 

Indelicate, Gregory J., and Clark, Michael A., Preparing for Emergency Spill Response. Pollution Engineering, 27(1), 56-58, 1995. 

Exhibits 2-5 and 2-6 are modified sample lists of programs and elements for an actual company (here called Xmple, Inc.) drawn from the files of Arthur D. Little. These are in addition to the PSM requirements shown in Exhibit 2-4. You should develop similar lists for your company. These can usually be obtained from PSM and ESH manuals or the specialist staff who support the programs and elements. Be careful to make sure you understand the scope of each program, as the titles can sometimes be a little misleading. For example, spill response may cover only measures to be taken to stop further spillage, while containment and clean-up are covered under emergency response. 

Chemical Transportation Emergency Center (CHEMTREC) — In the United States, the Manufacturing Chemists Association operates CHEMTREC 24 hours a day. By calling the appropriate toll-free number listed below, one can consult experts on chemicals and spill response. 

On Scene Commander (OSC) The overall coordinator of an oil spill response team, usually a representative of an oil company, a government official, or an independent oil spill cleanup contractor responsible for on-site strategical decisions and actions throughout each phase of a cleanup operation and who maintains close liaison with the appropriate government agencies to obtain support and provide progress reports on each phase of the emergency response. 

Spills are most likely to occur during loading/unloading operations and in-plant transfer activities. For this reason, written procedures should be kept current and made easily accessible to all employees. In addition, a spill response plan should be formulated, and employees should be trained both in the current operating procedures and in the correct implementation of emergency spill measures. A policy of taking disciplinary action on violation, if strictly enforced, can ensure employee adherence to procedure. 

Fire Brigade Team Leader —Oil Spill Response Team Leader —HazMat Spill Response Team Leader —Public Affairs Coordinator/Press Officer —Legal Counsel —Security Coordinator —Insurance and Claims Coordinator —Emergency Communications System Coordinator —Coordinator of Personnel Services... 

In addition to CHEMTREC, other emergency aids are finding wide use. The U. S. Coast Guard CHRIS (Chemical Hazard Response Information System) is available through the Coast Guard Headquarters, and regional officers, and its published material is of value in water-borne spill responses. (8)... 

Bleachex manufactures a variety of products using concentrated acids and bases. Plant officials noticed a large quantity of liquid, which was believed to be either sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid solution, flowing through the loading bay doors. An Emergency Toxic Spill Response Team attempted to determine the source and identity of the unknown liquid. A series of explosions and the presence of chlorine gas forced the team to abandon its efforts. The unknown liquid continues to flow into the nearly full containment ponds. 

Right-to-Know Working Around Hazardous Substances From worker perspective, labeling and handling of hazardous chemicals, oxidizers, poisons, corrosives, flammables, water-sensitive chemicals, spill response, and protective and emergency equipment. BNA Communications Inc. 

Effective control of operations—the execution of activities in accordance with established procedures and designs—is essential to safety. Assuring proper execution is a fundamental management responsibility. Most accidents are the result of improper or inadequate execution and thus reflect on management effectiveness. Anticipating the possibility of occasional breakdown in primary controls, procedures and designs frequently provide secondary controls, such as PPE and emergency spill equipment and procedures. 

Personnel who responded to a chemical spill of methyl acrylate were never briefed by facility personnel. As a result, they did not assume command of the event, even though facility procedures require the command to be transferred to Emergency Management and Response (EM R) if the facility does not have adequate resources to handle an event. The fact that the facility called for the hazardous materials (HAZMAT) team and used the services of occupational medicine was a sign that it did not have the necessary personnel to deal with the event, so EM R should have assumed the role of incident commander. Furthermore, no one was concerned about the flammability of the chemical. No one called the fire department to respond as a precautionary measure. If the methyl acrylate had ignited, a fire could have quickly spread through the rest of the lab. Also, if a lire had occurred when the spill response team entered the room, they could have been severely burned. (ORPS Report ALO-LA-LANL-TA55-1999-0032)... 

Oil and Gas UK (2011) Demonstrating the UK s Oil Spill Response Capability Report on Exercise Sula Tier 2/3 Deployment Demonstration and the Emergency Equipment Response Deployment Exercise. Oil and Gas UK London. 

A chemical spill is probably the most common type of laboratory accident and potentially one of the most serious if the material gives rise to hazardous vapors, interacts with the laboratory environment in a violent physical fashion, e.g., a fire, or is toxic or corrosive upon contact with a person s body. Most accidents involving chemical spills do not have such dramatic consequences, but they must all be handled correctly. The respaise to an emergency spill may invoke meeting the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.120 - Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. In most facilities using chemicals, there will need to be a plan to comply with the requirements of this standard. 

Emergency action helps reduce the severity of an incident. Emergency action may take several forms, for example, evacuation, rescue, emergency communications, treatment, and recovery. Emergency action requires the use of specially trained teams (fire brigades, spill response teams, etc.) and special equipment (fire protection systems, spdl containment equipment, flood control equipment, communication systems, medical emergency equipment, etc.). Chapter 29 discusses emergency actions in more detail. 

Be sure that your facility is stocked with the proper amount of sorbent pads, rolls and emergency spill kits for immediate response. 

When the Centre was set up in 1976, only a minority of coastal states were considered to have the means for actual oil spill response. Today, with the assistance of the Centre, the region has reached a certain level of preparedness, in particular for marine oil emergencies. This is shown in Table 1.7. 

Oil spill modeling needs to be performed before a spill occurs as part of a planning process for emergency response. This avoids the chicken-with-its-head-cut-off look that is often apparent in spill response teams. There will not be sufficient time following a spill to collect appropriate data and bring a model up to speed. Oil spill models are also valuable in a forensic investigation following an oil spill event. 

Although it was early winter and the ground was lightly snow-covered, the ground was not yet frozen. This was confirmed by members of the spill response team, who indicated there was no frost in the ground when an emergency road was bulldozed to the site. 

The spills and accidents section of the plan addresses emergency response. Proper spill response planning is critical. There is a distinction between a spill, which is at the threshold level for reporting or above, and incidental spills that do not meet reporting requirements. Spill kits should be located in the lab. Procedures should be established for who can respond to spills and how material is to be collected and disposed of. 

Emergency spill or fire cleanup involves the cleanup of PCB which was legally used in an enclosed manner but suddenly became open to the environment. Small PCB spill and fire cleanups are almost considered routine in businesses that still own and operate PCB equipment, and proper techniques for spill response and cleanup are well documented. 

Emergency response approach, including organization and training of response teams. Small, well-trained teams are the first line of defense against disasters and can be used for evacuation, fire fighting, rescue, spill response, first aid, and other tasks. 

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