Here at Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), a variety of spills involving hazardous materials can occur in a number of different circumstances; if handled properly, a spill may be nothing more than a nuisance. If handled improperly, a spill can seriously disrupt your activities and the work of your colleagues. At worst, a spill can cause bodily harm or property damage. Spills can be grouped into one of the following categories.
- Hazardous Chemicals
- Blood, Body Fluids
- Chemotherapeutic Materials
- Mercury Spill
- Radioactive Hazardous Materials
Depending on the severity of the spill or hazardous material incident, you have the opportunity to either utilize an appropriate spill cleanup kit or call Environmental Health & Safety for assistance.
Our highest priority is to protect the health and safety of our employees and students. On that basis, LLUH employees and/or students should not attempt to clean up an “uncontrolled spill”. According to the definition below, uncontrolled spills shall be cleaned up only by those with Emergency Response Training and appropriate safety equipment.
Uncontrolled or Complex Spills
An uncontrolled release is one where significant safety and health risks could be created. The American Chemical Society uses the term “complex” spill.
Examples of conditions that could create a significant risk are:
- Large-quantity releases
- Small-releases that could be highly toxic
- Potentially contaminated individuals arriving at hospitals
- Airborne exposures that could exceed a permissible exposure limit (PEL) or published exposure limit
- And employees who are not adequately trained or equipped to control the release
Incidental or Simple Spills
LLUH employees are permitted to clean up “incidental releases”. An incidental release is one that can be safely controlled at the time of the release and doesn’t have the potential to become an “uncontrolled release”. The American Chemical Society uses the term “simple” spill. If there is an exposure or other hazards to the employee responding to the spill, it is NOT an incidental or simple spill.
Spill Basics
Laboratory, Engineering Service, and Facility Management employees are responsible for minor or incidental spills of chemicals they commonly use. Clean up of incidental or simple spills is part of managing lab or shop chemicals properly.
All labs, shops, and other campus facilities where hazardous materials are used or stored must maintain spill kits for the type of materials in their area.
Employee/staff
If you can answer “Yes” to all of the following questions, you may clean up the spill.
Ask yourself these six questions:
- Do you know what spilled?
- Do you know the hazards of the spilled material? See SDS.
- Is the spill contained within the immediate area?
- Is the danger to people or property controlled?
Consider:
- Injuries or illness potential
- Fire or explosion potential
- Flammable vapors and ignition sources
- Toxic vapors or dust
- Material is a strong oxidizer
- Material is air, water, or otherwise highly reactive - Do you have the right spill cleanup kit?
- Can you protect yourself and others from the hazards?
If you answer “NO” to any of these questions, do NOT clean up the spill. Call 911. Stay on the line so that Environmental Health & Safety can collect information to facilitate an appropriate response. If needed, evacuate the area and activate the building alarm.
If you are involved in the incident, you may be asked to join the Incident Command Center. Please stand by outside the affected area until released from the scene.
The Office of Environmental Health and Safety will have responsibility for assisting in the event of chemical spills, while the Office of Radiation Safety will be responsible for all spills of radioactive hazardous materials.
In the event that a spill/hazardous material incident occur, employees and students should be able to refer to the spill kit for specific instructions on how to deal safely with the spill.
A “Code Orange” will be called in the event of a large number of individuals are contaminated during a spill that require decontamination prior to treatment in the Emergency Department.
A Hazardous Material Incident Report shall be completed providing information on the details of the spill, corrective actions taken, and any follow-up that may be required.
A copy of the Hazardous Materials Incident Report will be sent to the responsible individual for the department in which the spill/incident occurred, along with any pertinent recommendations that need to be instituted.
The Office of Environmental Health and Safety will consider any hazardous material incidents requiring extensive follow-up and will perform a quarterly review of hazardous material incidents to analyze emerging spill trends and common occurrences. This information will be made available to the entity’s Safety Committee as scheduled.
____________
This article originally posted in Environmental Health & Safety's Speaking of Safety Blog. Environmental Health & Safety is a division of Risk Management. Visit the Speaking of Safety Blog here.