What to do in case of a chemical spill

Now we’ve covered response planning, let’s look at what to do in case of a chemical spill. We’ve put together some general steps below as a rough guide, but it’s always important to work with an expert chemical spill cleanup company like Ideal Response to ensure thorough hazard mitigation.

1. Assess the risk: The first step in any chemical spill procedure should be to assess the risk. This means determining what substance you’re dealing with, where the leak has taken place and how it could impact people, structures and the environment around it. If you’re dealing with a large spill or an especially volatile or dangerous substance, remove personnel from the vicinity. In these cases, you should immediately contact emergency services and then a responsible spill cleanup company.
2. Secure the space: Once you understand the nature of the spill and the hazards presented, you should secure the area to prevent others from entering the vicinity. This helps limit potential harm and confine the effects to a given area. Physical markers or barriers are usually best, as they create a clear delineation around the spill area.
3. Contain the spill: With the area secured, the next step is to try and prevent the spill from spreading or becoming any larger. This is usually done by creating a physical barrier around the spill using absorbent materials such as spill pillows, vermiculite or cat litter. Containment minimises the cleanup area and reduces the risk of harm to people or the environment.
4. Shut down the source: Next, try to stop the source of the spill. For example, if the chemical is leaking from a damaged container, plug or patch the container if possible. This will keep the spill from becoming larger and speed up the cleanup process.While shutting down the source is an important part of any chemical spill procedure, it should be approached with caution as it requires getting close to the spill.
5. Evaluate the situation and begin clean up: Once the area is secured, the spill is contained and the source shut down, the next step is to evaluate the size of the spill and the damage it has caused or is causing. After you understand exactly what you’re dealing with, you can begin the cleanup process. While it is possible to tackle some spills yourself, depending on scale and chemicals in question, it’s usually advisable to hire a specialist chemical spill cleanup company.
6. Decontaminate the area: After the spill has been cleaned up, the area needs to be thoroughly decontaminated. Even after cleanup, harmful residues can remain on surfaces for long periods of time. Unaddressed, this could cause secondary harm to people or have long-term environmental impacts. Again, a specialist cleanup company is advisable for this step, as they will have the tools and expertise necessary to work efficiently and thoroughly.
7. Complete the required reports: The final step is to fill out detailed reports on how the spill occurred, how it was handled and what will be done to prevent a similar incident in the future. At Ideal Response, our chemical spill response and cleanup services include report completion as standard to help make the process as straightforward as possible and ensure you maintain legal compliance. For more information, have a read of our blog on legal requirements for chemical spill cleanup.