Spill control industry finds a voice in Australia

Last week saw the launch of The AusSpill Association (AA), a national association comprising of leading spill control companies united in a common voice to promote the concerns of the industry to government, the public and the environment protection industry alike.

They define themselves as a “product agnostic” body that are looking to create a regulated system of product accreditation and compliance. Principally, they want the environmental regulators and the government to recognise the AA as the “voice of the industry”, in much the same way that the UK Spill Association is recognised by the UK Environmental and Maritime Regulators.

Other key areas of concern for the AA were the classification of all absorbent types (general purpose, oil only and chemical) and the implementation of an industry-standard test for all absorbents. The main benefit being that an independent test of all the absorbent materials used will provide an unbiased judgement on the quality of the absorbent materials.

In addition to the testing of absorbents, they are also seeking to establish an Australian standard for spill kits and adopt that standard for the storage and handling of all types of chemicals. Ultimately, the association is hoping that greater uniformity and cooperation within the spill control industry will enable them to assist governments in cementing and developing further international best practices for spill control policy.

Standardised materials and product ranges will hopefully aid not only customers in selecting the right spill control products, but should also make the recovery of spills more efficient and effective in the long term.