What To Do After A Chemical Spill In The Workplace

When a chemical spill happens, an effective response is essential to protecting your employees’ health, minimizing damage to your workplace, and resuming operations as soon as possible. Unless your staff are trained in chemical spill cleaning, you must bring in professional cleaners.

ICE Cleaning is a specialist cleaning company that offers rapid response chemical spill clean up services. Its technicians can clean up any spill, no matter the size or severity, and are fully permitted to handle and dispose of biohazardous waste. They are available wherever you are in the UK.

Keep reading to learn the steps you should follow when a chemical spills in the workplace.

Alert and evacuate employees

When you learn that a spill has occurred, notify your staff immediately. Depending on how serious the spill is, evacuate your co-workers, let businesses operating nearby know, and contact the authorities.

If someone has been injured by the spill, remove them from the exposure area if it is safe to do so. If not, wait for the emergency services to arrive.

Control the spill

Before you clean up, you need to make sure the chemical is no longer spilling, like closing the container’s open valve or using putty to seal the leak. Only trained professionals wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE) should do this.   

Then, make sure all ignition and heat sources are turned off to reduce the likelihood of a fire breaking out.

Next, ventilate the area by opening windows so fumes don’t build up unless there are people outside the building who could inhale them. 

Contain its spread

If you have a chemical spill kit and you are trained in using it, use the equipment provided to stop the spill spreading or going down drains. Otherwise, professional cleaners will use equipment like boons, spill socks, and drain plugs to contain it.

They will then block access to the spill with things like caution tape and signs to protect your employees. 

Clean up the chemical spill

Finally, soak up the chemical spill with specialist absorbent materials and place all contaminated waste in a chemical waste container ready for disposal. If you are not qualified to safely clean the spill. Bring in specialist cleaners to clean up and dispose of the hazardous waste.

The affected surfaces should then be cleaned thoroughly to ensure all traces of the chemical have been removed.

ICE Cleaning’s technicians are qualified to clean up and handle any type of chemical, including acids and alkalis. They can be on site in a matter of hours in an emergency.

You can learn more about ICE Cleaning’s diverse range of specialist cleaning services on its website.

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