The Commonwealth replaced the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011(WHS Act) in January 2012.
At the same time a number of legislative instruments that support the new Act were also introduced including the WHS Regualtions and the WHS Approved Codes of Practice.
The WHS Act and Legislative Instruments have now been harmonised across most Australian states and territories.
These laws and regulations reflect the growing understanding that workplace spills are both an environment protection and a workplace health and safety issue.
Section 357 of the WHS regulations, entitled “Spills and Damage” requires a spill containment system in each part of the workplace where there is a risk of spill or leak.
It goes on to say that, “The person must ensure that the spill containment system does not create a hazard by bringing together different hazardous chemicals that are not compatible.”
This section on the Regulation also states that, “The person must ensure that the spill containment system provides for the cleanup and disposal of a hazardous chemical that spills or leaks, and any resulting effluent.” A maximum penalty of $30,000 applies to a breach of this section.
Spill containment pallets from Spill Station are a cost effective and flexible method of ensuring that spills and leaks are contained. The modular design of these units ensures that spill catchment areas are segregated to prevent incompatible chemical from coming into contact. They are suitable for containers of up to 1000 litres.
Spill Station spill kits are ideal to ensure that you are able to clean up any spills that do occur. A variety of models are available so you can address a spill of any type or size. A complete spill kit training package is available at no additional cost when you purchase a Spill Station spill kit.