A Guide to Buying The Right Spill Kit

Every industrial facility will probably encounter a spill at one point or another, especially if it frequently handles and works with liquids. Whether the business is small or large, if you store oils, chemicals, fuels, hydraulic fluids, solvents, batteries or anything in between, you should highly consider getting a spill kit or two to prevent the spills from polluting the premises and the environment. In fact, Australian law requires people who undertake activities that may pollute to take practical and reasonable measures to minimise, and if possible, prevent environmental harm.


That being said, industrial spill kits are a requirement in many industrial facilities. However, not all industrial spill kits are the same, and they don't contain the same type of absorbents, which means that before you decide on which spill kit is right for your facility, you need to consider three important factors: the types of liquids present in your facility, the largest possible spill and whether portability of the kit is necessary.

The first thing you need to consider is the type of liquids you store. Once you figure that out you can buy a kit that has the appropriate absorbents. Liquids are divided into three categories - hydrocarbons such as fuels and oils, non-aggressive chemicals like most agricultural chemicals and coolants, and aggressive chemicals. For hydrocarbons, you need marine or hydrocarbon spill kits. For non-aggressive chemicals, you need a general purpose, service station or automotive spill kits, and for aggressive chemicals, you need Hazchem spill kits.

Then, you have to determine the largest probable spill from your largest holding tank or container. So for instance, if the capacity of your largest drum is 200L, then you need a spill kit that can absorb that much. However, sometimes, you don't need to absorb the entirety of the spill. Instead, you can redirect it or contain it in a safe area and then either dispose of it safely or just use a pump to get it back into the container.

Lastly, consider whether portability is something you need from the kit. You should have a spill kit nearby spill-prone areas. However, if the facility you store liquids in is large, you might need a wheelie bin spill kit or multiple spill kits around the facility so that you can tend to the spill as quickly as possible, because most of the time, the quicker you react to a spill, the better you can handle it and prevent it from spreading.

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