Introduction

Many different hazardous agents are used in the laboratories, such as chemicals, biologicals and radiologicals. The principal method of ensuring the safety of workers (and others) from exposure to these agents is through containment. When a spill occurs, this containment is lost and exposure to the hazardous agent(s) can occur. Correctly dealing with a spill (i.e. release) of a hazardous agent is vital to ensure the safety of those directly at risk and those who are at secondary risk (e.g. those handling the waste generated during the clean-up process). The information below is intended to ensure spills of hazardous agents are dealt with safely.

Spill Kits

To help staff deal with spills of hazardous agents, each laboratory area is equipped with some basic materials kept in an accessible location. Staff should ensure that they know where the spill kits are located. The general spill kit (which is also used for biological agent spills) is usually located in the equipment room. The radiation spill kit should be located outside the supervised area.

Click on the links below to see the contents of the two types of spill kit:

• General Spill Kit contents (for chemical & biological spills)
• Radiation Spill Kit contents

Spill SOPs

Dealing with a hazardous agent spill requires care and planning to ensure the safety of everyone is maintained. Should staff have any doubt over how to deal with a spill safely, they should evacuate the area and summon help. Any attempt to deal with a spill should be undertaken according to the relevant Safe Operating Procedure (SOP). Laminated copies of the SOPs should be contained in the spill kit box. The SOPs are:

• 46 - Chemical Spill Procedure (minor & major)
• 62 - Biological Spill Procedure (containment level 1 & 2)
• 79 - Radioactive Spill Procedure (minor)
• 84 - Radioactive Spill Procedure (major)

All SOPs are available to view and download from the H&S database.

General Advice

Below is some general advice for dealing with spills. Obviously every spill is different and so the advice below is not intended to provide an exhaustive explanation of how to deal with particular types of spill (please refer to the above mentioned SOPs for details). The advice below is intended to give some general pointers.

• If in ANY doubt, evacuate the area and get help
• Try not to panic. Staying calm and focussed will help to ensure the spill is dealt with safely
• For agents posing a risk by inhalation, ventilate the area if safe to do so
• For flammable liquid spills, shut off all sources of ignition (e.g. naked flames)
• Do not sweep up powder spills. Doing so will raise dusts and increase the chance of inhalation
• Instead, damp down with water (unless this will cause an adverse reaction) and wipe up
• Give aerosols time (5 minutes) to settle before tackling liquid spills
• Ensure only those people who need to be present are present
• Ensure you prevent "downstream" problems by disposing properly of any waste generated

Updated: 06/04/2016