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Most factories use chemicals on a daily basis. Whilst many of us think of chemicals as things used only in laboratories, chemicals are also present in oils, glues, paints, inks, and household items like bleach and floor cleaner.

Some chemicals are more harmful than others, so you need to know what to do if you have a chemical spillage. Just by having a look at the label on the side on the chemical container, you can find out what dangers are contained within, so you can act accordingly if necessary.

Here is a list of the current symbols used by chemical manufacturers:

• Highly or extremely flammable

• Toxic or very toxic

• Harmful/irritant

• Oxidising

• Corrosive

• Explosive

• Dangerous to the environment

As well as the indicating symbols on the label, there will also be some brief information about the substance within. This might contain information such as:

• Keep locked up and out of the reach of children

• In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately and seek medical advice

• Toxic to aquatic organisms

• Causes burn

• Flammable

There is of course lots of other information that may be contained on the label and the list above is by no means exhaustive.

It’s important to remember that it’s not just the chemical manufacturers that have to give safety advice about their chemicals. If any chemical is used in your workplace, your manager or supervisor must make sure that employees are aware of how to use the chemical safely and how to use chemical spill kits if they are provided.

The leakage of fuel oil can cause serious environmental problems, so you need to make sure that you use the right type of fuel tank to store your fuels safely. The Control of Pollution Regulations 2001 states that the fuel tank you use should be bunded if you store in excess of 200 litres on business premises or 3,500 litres at a domestic property.

Bunded fuel tanks are thus available in a wide range of sizes to cater for domestic and industrial use and because they are manufactured from high quality materials such as steel or high grade polyethylene, they will last for many years to come.

Polyethylene bunded fuel tanks

These tanks are virtually maintenance free and of course corrosion free. They are available in sizes from 1,360 litres to 5,000 litres and are often guaranteed for at least 10 years.

Steel bunded fuel tanks

These fuel tanks are available in much larger sizes than polyethylene fuel tanks. They are generally available in sizes of up to 15,000 litres and have a 110% bund capacity. On some units a small cabinet is included so a pump can be fitted as well as a tank level gauge.

If you need to use mobile equipment such as generators you will know the propensity that these devices have of leaking fuel oil and lubricating liquids. And with regulations now so tight concerning spills of such types of liquids you need to make sure that if a spill occurs, it does not affect the area where the mobile device is being used.

In the past drip trays were used to solve problems like this, but with large pieces of machinery they were not so practical because the oil drip tray was sometimes larger than the equipment itself. So, as a solution to this problem, the Plant Nappy™ has been developed.

The Plant Nappy™ is a new type of spill containment device that fits neatly under the equipment that you are using. Any spills are contained within the nappy and because you use replaceable nappy liners, the device can be used again and again.

One of the best things about the Plant Nappy™ is that it can be used outside as well as inside. The spill containment walls are made out of a unique filter material that will allow water to escape but keep oil or fuel spills within the device.

BP shares have fallen a further 5% after US president Barak Obama stated that he would sack BP chief exec Tony Hayward over comments he had made.

NBC interviewed Mr Obama on Tuesday regarding the US response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. During the interview Mr Obama said that the comments that Mr Hayward made such as

“I want my life back”

and the Gulf of Mexico was

“a big ocean”

would mean that if he worked for Mr Obama he would no longer have a job.

BP is still under pressure from all sectors, even though the spill containment cap that was fitted at the weekend if siphoning off a huge amount of oil from the leaking riser pipe. Their shares have now fallen by a total of 40% since the disaster in the middle of April and things don’t seem to be improving.

It remains to be seen whether Mr Hayward will be able to keep his job under the mounting pressure from the US government. The clean up operation has so far cost BP an estimated $1.25 billion dollars.

Most industrial facilities use hazardous substances on a daily basis. These might be flammable liquids, aerosols containing explosive propellants or degreasing chemicals or solvents.

Because of the risks associated with these substances, health and safety laws dictate that they must be kept in a secure lockable safety cabinets and meet the Factory Inspectorate Certificate of Approval No 1 Parts 3 & 4.

The safety cabinet you use to store these substances must be colour coded so people can distinguish easily between the substances stored within it. For example, flammable liquids should be stored in cabinets colour coded yellow. Acids and alkalis should be in a white colour coded cabinet and pesticides in a green cabinet. The cabinets you choose should also be COSHH approved, so you need to make sure that you buy them from a reputable dealer.

Keeping your employees safe is of paramount importance for any industrial site manager. And if all your hazardous substances are kept in appropriate storage facilities, you will be well on the way to not just meeting legislation, but also improving the safety on your site.

It’s important to make all your employees aware how important it is to return these substances to their appropriate cabinets after use and also educate them on how to tackle spills of dangerous substances should they occur.

The impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the environment is yet to be seen, but with BP stating that they will return the Gulf to the condition it was in before the spill, we hope the damaging effects can be minimised.

Miles of oil containing booms have now been used around the Gulf to stop the oil reaching the coastline of four US States. However, with tar balls now washing up on the coast of Florida it seems impossible not to consider the damage already done to marine life.

About 25% of the US wetlands are located in the Mississippi Delta alone and because human occupancy is at a minimum here, the birds and other living creatures can survive with little risk.

The US President Barak Obama has stated that BP should be held accountable for the disaster. The British company has been heavily criticised for the disaster in the US with boycotts of BP service stations taking place across the country.

It remains to be seen what the total environmental cost will be and it may be quite some time until we find out. Until then, BP don’t just have a huge PR job on their hands, they also have a huge clean up job too.

The new spill containment device fitted over the leaking riser pipe in the Gulf of Mexico seems to have been a success, with BP claiming to be capturing 10,000 barrels a day.

Oil has been seeping into the sea off the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on the 20th of April. While the new cap is not collecting all the oil, Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive has stated that "the majority, probably the vast majority" of oil is now being collected.

Mr Hayward has also stated that BP would be working long after the media coverage has subsided to restore the Gulf of Mexico to its pre-oil spill condition.

BP is going to add a further spill containment device to the sea floor over the next week, which they hope will mean the vast majority of oil will then be contained. The full environmental impact of the spill is yet to be seen, but it has already been described as the worst in US history.

US President Barak Obama has pledged his support to the livelihoods of people who will be affected by the spill and will make sure that BP are financially accountable for the damage.

The relief wells that BP is currently drilling are not expected to be completed for at least another two months, so it is hoped that BP’s current efforts to contain the spill end in success.

Industrial sites don’t just have to use spill control methods to copes with oil or fuel oil spills, some also need control methods in place to control chemical spillages.

The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) came into force in June 2007 with the aims to protect human health and also the environment from the use of harmful chemicals, to make suppliers and manufacturers responsible for the risks attached to these chemicals and to promote different assessment methods of the dangerous properties of harmful substances. REACH was also set up to allow movement of these substances across the EU and to increase the market competitiveness in the chemical industry in the EU.

One of the most important things that REACH does is to provide a framework for passing information about dangerous chemicals across the supply chain. A standardised safety data sheet will accompany these materials so suppliers and users know the risks involved when using the chemicals and so the chemicals can be safely managed.

If you use dangerous chemicals on your industrial site you should have chemical spill kits in place and workers should be adequately trained to deal with chemical spills should they take place.

We have discussed in previous articles the involvement that workers should have when developing control methods and suggesting improvements in the way they work to control their exposure to dangerous substances. Here we will suggest a few of the things that might be of use on your industrial site to control exposure.

Emergency spill kits

Spills can happen at any time, even if you are well prepared and follow all the stipulated control exposure methods. That’s why it’s so important to have emergency spill kits easily available on site. Emergency kits can be kept near areas of potential spills and employees should be aware of their location should they be needed.

Absorbent sock, pads and pillows

For areas that are prone to spills, different absorbent materials can be kept at spill stations that are easily accessible by all employees. Spill dispensers come in types such as simple wall mounted roll holders to compact spill caddies or spill control stations that can be wheeled to various sites around your factory and can contain many different types of absorbent materials.