We provide a five gallon bucket with a labeled 1 gallon plastic jar of
1:1 sodium bicarb (food grade) and clay (kitty litter or oil-sorb)
inside. It comes with an instruction booklet inside. Emergency
instructions and phone numbers on the label outside. A plastic dust pan
and whisk broom. (PPE is already present in the labs.) 

I instruct our researchers to use the spill absorbent on the spill then
collect everything, broken glass and absorbents, paper towels, etc, with
the dustpan and broom and place the waste into the 5 gallon bucket that
the spill kit comes in. They label the bucket then we remove it as
hazardous waste and give them a new spill kit.

In general the system works really well. All the labs have spill kits,
they are trained to use them in lab safety training, and it's not too
expensive for us to put them together. The only disadvantage is that
it's bulky and there seems to be a great temptation to remove the
contents and use the bucket for other purposes. But we catch those
during lab inspections. 

On the other hand the fact that it is bulky almost forces them to leave
it out on the floor (rather than tucked into a drawer or cabinet) and is
easily spotted in the event of a spill. 

Christopher E. Kohler, MS
Certified Chemical Hygiene Officer
Laboratory Safety Manager
Indiana University
Office of Environmental, Health, and Safety Management
2735 E. Tenth St., Room 160
Bloomington, IN 47408

"It's better to be safe 100 times than get killed once."
 
                                                              -Mark
Twain

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of
Kerry Smith
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 5:15 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Spill kit portable vs. fixed

We are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of centrally located,
fixed (wall mounted) vs. portable spill kits for buildings with science
labs.  Spill kit contents for each type would be the same.  Please
respond if you have any assessments, experience, events or other ?
Relating to this issue.  

Thanks for your time

Kerry J. Smith, CIH
Senior Industrial Hygienist
BYU Risk Management & Safety Dept.
T 801-422-2943
F 801-422-0711

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