Australian standard for spill control kits launched

An industry standard for spill kit colouring and labelling in Australia has been launched by the AusSpill Association (AA) to provide industry and consumers with easier and safer identification.

The new standard is already being adopted by AA members and will gradually be phased in by late 2017.

Labelling of all wheelie bin spill kits is required to meet AS 1319-1994, ensuring that the words ‘spill kit’ and the application of the kit such as ‘general purpose’ are clearly visible.

Launching the industry standard last month, AA Chairman Trevor Prentice said spill kits currently consist of a confusing variety of wheelie bin and lid colours which have varying identification labels.

“AusSpill’s research showed that on many occasions, the incorrect spill kit was being selected,” said Prentice.

“On a site where there are similar coloured bins to the spill kit — often used for waste or other storage — the recognition of a spill kit would be by reading the label only. This presents difficulty in cases where English is not easily understood.”

He said other issues like when a spill kit has not been correctly identified can cause safety and environmental risks or non-performance if used on an incompatible fluid.

“Current spill kit label terminology can vary and be confusing for the user,” said Prentice. “For example, the terms ‘General Purpose’ and ‘Universal’ are both used to describe a similar type of spill kit and users often misunderstand when and how these spill kits should be used.”

The new industry standard is designed to overcome these problems and will require that all wheelie bin spill kits have a lime green base, with individual bin applications being identified by specific lid colours ie, white for oil and fuel; grey for general purpose; and yellow for Hazchem.

Prentice said the new standard will help to decrease any confusion over identifying the purpose or type of spill kit needed for different fluids as well as improve standardisation.

“The creation of this Australian spill kit standard brings important emergency response equipment into line with similar standardisation that has been created for fire extinguishers, which currently have a colour standard for recognition and type,” he said.

“AusSpill Association looks forward to developing further improvements to spill response equipment to aid consumers’ understanding and safety.”

Established in 2012, AA represents Australian spill control manufacturers, resellers/wholesalers and importers as a single voice to government, the public and the environment protection industry.

For more information, go to http://ausspill.com.au.

Image caption: AA Chairman Trevor Prentice.