spill response?
someone has to clear it up. Whether it's
the first person on the scene or a trained
response team, being prepared wins out
over knee-jerk reaction.
on who deals with it and how
competent they are at their job. How
would it be handled if it happened in an
area where many people were working?
How would a response change if the
spill was on the open road?
response, it's no use purely reacting to
the incident as it unfolds preparation,
planning and training are the key to a
proper outcome.
that take into account known and
potential types of incident. They need to
consider what type of incident could
occur, where it could happen, and the
nature of the hazards and the likely risks
it would present. Then, they need to
consider the make-up of the response
team. That's not in terms of who does
which job, but in what roles are
required. You can guarantee that on the
day of the `biggie', the person
nominated as the incident commander is
on holiday and someone else will have
to fulfil that role.
availability and location of the correct
personal protective equipment and
respiratory protective equipment (PPE
and RPE). It needs to take into account
how to get to the incident is it just
local on the working site or remote from
it and whether the approach made by
the responders put them at risk.
advance include how quickly
obtained and easily interpreted,
whether there's a system for assessing
the risks of the situation before
implementing a response, how
communications are handled and how
waste materials are dealt with.
mean that a large quantity of a
substance is released before an effective
response can be made. Training staff to
know when and how to provide a quick
and safe method of reducing the
quantity or rate of release may make all
the difference.
transport and handling of chemicals and
other substances all contain sections on
training staff to know what they are
working with and how to respond to
any incident. The Control of Substances
Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
Regulations and The Control of Major
Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations
are just two of many that state there
should be plans in place.
not much good trying to implement the
procedures in your well-written
`Guidance in the event of a spillage' if
it's the first time you've seen them. Time
spent in actually exercising your
response plans is not time wasted.
providing advice and guidance during
spillages. We've used this experience to
create a modular course to
teach the theory of spill
response, with an option for a
practical exercise in the
workplace.
but how prepared you are to deal with it. PAUL RAST-LINDSELL, Technical
Consultant at the National Chemical Emergency Centre, maintains that being
proactive rather than reactive can make all the difference.
pollution will be the focus at the
UKSpill Association annual
InlandSpill seminar at the Fire
Service College in Moreton in
Marsh, Gloucestershire, on 16
April.
agencies, and contractors
together to discuss real spill
costs, sustainability and future
spills, and also includes a mini
exhibition, and a tour of the site.
of RAW Group will talk about
how environmental sustainability
can be considered in spill
response and remediation.
update on the Environment
Agency project to assess the true
impact and cost of pollution
incidents.
an update on recent progress and
future plans for the training and
accreditation of contractors
within UK Spill.
Council will provide an insight
into the expectations of
environmental health officers
following spill incidents.
bookings can be made via
info@ukspill.org
figures
booked for
UKSpill
conference