Capital Area Groundwater Alliance - Teachers & Students Information

Before taking our quiz, please read the following information to help you understand more about our water & help answer the quiz questions.

Best Management Practices: Spill Response

Spill Prevention and Control - A good plan minimizes environmental impacts, clean up costs, and possible bodily injuries. It is important to know the location of:

All chemicals
Exits
Floor drains
Fire extinguishers
Spill response kits.

Spill kits should have:

Mop
Pail
Sponges
Plugs
Absorbent material appropriate for the material being absorbed.

Employees should practice controlling spills. Practices to prevent spills include:

Drip pans for under spigots, valves and pumps
Use of funnels for transferring liquids
Covering catch basins in loading dock areas.

All practices should be performed in a way that allows the reuse or recycling of the spilled substance. Never wash a spill into a storm drain or onto the ground.

Accident Response

Accidents can happen to even the most well planned and executed use of chemicals. When an accident, or incident, involving chemicals occurs, it must be acted upon immediately. Your response to an incident will depend on the situation and your ability to contain and control the spill. Accidents can be classified in three categories, minor incidents, major incidents and emergencies.

Minor Incident -- A situation where material has been released and you are confident in your ability to contain and clean the spill.

Response -- Confine the spill, decontaminate the area, notify your supervisor and make a record.

Major Incident -- A situation where material has been released and you are not able to clean up the spill without unnecessary risk to yourself or the environment.

Response -- Inform others in area, confine the spill, restrict the area and possible contaminated persons, remove contaminated clothes and decontaminate skin, notify your supervisor.

Emergency -- A situation where materials have been released and the risk of personal injury is great such that the spill cannot be safely contained without professional assistance.

Response -- Evacuate the area if life-threatening conditions exist, call 911 for emergency response, administer first aid as needed while waiting for responders, implement major incident response guidelines.