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An oil spill on a lake in Swindon has caused alarm for residents after it took some time to be checked and cleaned.

The spill, on a lake in Stratton, was noticed by residents last Tuesday when a thick layer of oil was seen floating on the surface of the water. The oil had been there for some time as it was also around the lake banks and covering the surrounding rocks and trees.

Swindon council are responsible for the upkeep of the lake and when they received notice of the occurrence contacted the Environment Agency for advice. One resident commented that the fish in the lake were gasping for breath and the ducks were covered in oil.

A spokesperson for Swindon Council stated:

“We initially contacted the Environment Agency for some advice and, after considering it, they decided it was a matter we could deal with ourselves which resulted in a slight delay to the clear-up operation.

“Our contractors have been out to the site and have put down some absorbent matting to soak up any excess oil.

“We suspect someone dropped an oil drum in the water and this was the cause of the pollution.”

From their emergence in the market as individual spill collection devices, spill kits have now become more specialised and can now be purchased for bespoke spill solutions.

Slim fit spill kits

If you need to store a spill kit close to a potential spill site, a slim fit spill kit is a good choice. A slim fit spill kit contains everything you need to deal with a spill of about 20 litres of liquid. The kits come in small see through plastic bags so you can see which spill absorption solution you need. And the slim fit design enables them to be tucked away in your vehicle or on a machine in the factory.

Mini spill kits

Mini spill kits are the perfect spill kit to keep at hand in a workshop or other work area. The spill kit contains enough absorbent materials to soak up ten litres of spilled liquid and it’s one of the cheapest spill kits currently on the market.

Forklift truck spill kits

A forklift truck spill kit is specially designed to be fasted to the vehicle so it can be used in an emergency situation. Because the spill kit container is made from heavy duty fabric, it is extremely durable and can stay in situ for many years until it is needed. A forklift truck spill kit contains enough absorbents to soak up 12 litres of liquid.

It’s not uncommon for an old mechanical device to drip or leak a little oil, and one of the worst culprits in situations like this are old generators.

Old generators are notoriously ‘dirty’ pieces of equipment to use, but even though they are known for drips or leaks, any liquid spills from equipment of this type needs to be captured so that it does not come into contact with the surrounding environment.

One of the simplest ways of catching leaks or drips from a machine is to use a drip tray. A drip tray is a simple device which can sit under the machinery when it is being used and the oil or other fluid leak can be collected so it does not affect the surrounding environment. Some commonly used drip trays include Polyethylene drip trays, drum trays, drip pans and even worksurface drip trays.

There comes a problem however when a machine which is being used outside drips liquid. A drip tray can still be used outside, but it will not just collect the drips from the machine; it will also collect rain water. A solution to this problem is the Plant Nappy. A Plant Nappy is a spill containment device which catches the drips from a leaky machine but lets rainwater through. This means the nappy will not overflow and all contamination from the spilled liquid will be collected.

Every industrial site needs to have a storage system in place, whether for storing simple things like a person’s possessions or whether for storing spare parts or equipment.

Workshop cupboards

Workshop cupboards are a necessity in any workplace. The cupboards can be used for a myriad of purposes including the storage of files or folders, commonly used spare parts or even a worker’s tools.

Boltless racking

Shelving comes in many forms, but industrial shelving has to be strong and durable and take the frequent knocks that it would see on a regular basis. Shelves are usually made from reinforced steel and can be simply clipped in place if you use a boltless racking system. For rigidity purposes the shelves they are usually fitted with pre-drilled feet so that a user can securely fix them to the floor.

Safety cabinets

A cut above a normal workshop storage cabinet is a safety or hazardous liquid storage cabinet. These types of storage cabinets are colour coded depending on what can be stored inside them and many feature bunded spaces at the lowest point in the cabinet, so if a liquid were to leak it would be safely contained.

Health and safety in the workplace is the responsibility of the employer and the employee. Employers must make sure that the equipment they have on site is of a standard that is safe to use when needed and employees need to make sure when using equipment that it is not damaged in any way and is suitable and safe for the job which they are doing.

Mobile safety steps are used at just about every industrial site, from providing access to change a light bulb to providing access for general maintenance tasks.

Safety steps and platforms are available in a range of heights suitable for different applications. When a worker is going to work at height for long periods of time scaffold towers or aluminium podiums may be safer than a set of steps. However, for one-off situations steps provide a suitable solution. One of the most important features of a set of steps is them being lightweight. Lightweight steps are easy to carry from place to place but are also extremely durable and hardwearing so can be used in even the toughest environments. In situations like this aluminium steps work really well.

For those who work in warehouses, steps are an invaluable tool which are used every day. The steps may only feature a few rungs, but provide a solution to reach items that are sited out of reach.

Kevin Costner is perhaps most recognised for his roles in Hollywood movies, but he is also known for developing a spill containment and collection device – a device on which BP has spent £10m in the past year.

When the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill occurred, the company did everything in their power to try to stop the spill, they even looked at many private and personal suggestions about how to clean up the spilled oil. It’s not surprising then that a suggestion by Mr Costner got to the front of the queue.

Mr Costner’s oil separating centrifuge devices failed their first field tests when tried out by BP, but the company still ploughed £10m into them in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

When Mr Costner appeared before Congress he said he’d spent £15m developing the devices, but the field test engineers were not so enthusiastic. Kurt Hansen from the US Coast Guard was part of the initial test team. He stated:

"It appeared to work in some conditions and did not appear to work in others.

"My impression from talking to people who have seen it is that it's not any different than any other separators out there on the market that do the same thing."

In all 21 of Mr Costner’s centrifuge systems were deployed at the spill site, with different degrees of success. Eric Hoek, a professor at UCLA, worked at a consultant at Costner’s company, he stated:

"There were days when the vessels collected oil and watery liquid and the centrifuge processed it,"

"There were days when the vessel pulled up but it was not processible, it was full of sticks, or peanut butter."

Drain covers should be part of any company’s spill response plan of action. The spillage of dangerous liquids poses a hazard not just to the personnel on site where the spill occurs, but also to the environment if the spilled solution should make its way into the general waste water system.

Spill kits are an excellent way of dealing with a spill on your industrial site. But to stop the flow of the spilled liquid into a general waste drain, you’ll need something that can provide a water tight cover over the drain until the spilled liquid can be soaked up by a suitable absorbent.

Drain covers perform the job of preventing hazardous liquid entering the general waste water system perfectly. The drain cover fits over the drain and provides a water tight seal. Some types of drain covers include:

Plug rugs

Plug rugs are a mouldable drain cover so can be used to cover a variety of different sizes and styles of drains. They can even seal misshapen drains and uneven drain openings so no liquid can enter the drainage system.

Neoprene drain covers

Neoprene drain covers are a quick to deploy and cost effective way of stopping liquid waste entering the general waste water system. They can be used on rough or smooth surfaces and are resistant to most chemicals.

With the weather in the UK becoming more unpredictable all the time, it’s no wonder many communities in low lying areas are making preparations against the chance of flooding.

Just this week the Met office said there is a good chance that the UK will have its coolest summer for over two decades, and that comes just a few months after the hottest spring for 118 years.

It can be impossible to plan for acts of God, but many communities that now live near the sea or rivers which regularly flood are now checking their own flood defences to make sure they are adequately prepared.

Flood barriers

Flood barriers are an effective portable way to provide a defence and protection system against flooding. The barriers provide a water-tight seal with the ground and can be joined together to form a barrier of unlimited length. Flood barriers can also be stacked creating a much taller blockade against advancing water.

Flood barriers are filled with water when needed and then the water drained away and the barrier stored until next time it is needed.

Spill kits comprise of many spill clean-up, containment and absorbent products, which can be used if needed to clean up a spill of a hazardous substance.

One of the most popular spill kits currently available is an over-the-shoulder spill kit. An over-the-shoulder spill kit is a small bag which can be carried around as necessary and contains a few different spill control products.

Included in an over-the-shoulder spill kit are things such as absorbent pillows, socks, pads, disposable gloves and a usually a sack for the disposal of the used products.

If you use chemicals or other toxic liquids at your industrial site, it’s really important that you are prepared in case a spill occurs. And, one way you can do this is to have different spill kits available at specific locations around your site. Usually placed near to a site that is most likely to see a spill, a spill kit can be your first line of defence at dealing with a problem that may escalate if left untreated or could result in a fine if contaminated liquid should enter the general waste water system.