What is the difference between a Vehicle Spill Kit and a small Workshop Spill Kit?

Quite often there is little or no difference between a Vehicle Spill Kit, a small Workshop Spill Kit and a Marine Spill Kit. In fact they can often be used in a variety of situations. Most individuals and companies tend to apply the 80:20 rule when it comes to spill kits i.e. 80% of the time the spill will be a particularly type (e.g. fuel, oil etc.) and that spill is most likely to occur on the land or on or near water. The sorbents you chose to contain and recover the spill should be based on those two criteria.

So a typically spill kits and the sorbents inside the kits are matched to the type and location of the spill that is most likely to occur. In general terms sorbents come in one of three types:

1. Polypropylene products are ‘oil only’ hydrophobic or ‘water only’ hydrophilic sorbents.
2. Organic materials which tend to do a bit of both.
3. Mineral based ‘kitty litter’ type products.

Spill kits are described by virtue of how much of a spilt liquid they will absorb i.e. a 30lt oil spill kit has enough sorbent material to soak up 30lt of oil or fuel.

Marine Spill Kits

• Are largely designed for spills that will most likely occur on or near water.
• Generally these types of spills require very rapid containment.
• You will need an absorbent material that will sorb hydrocarbons (oil, fuel, diesel etc.) and not water.
• Commonly polypropylene is the most widely used material in a Marine Spill Kit.
• Usually most companies prefer to carry a number of longer ‘sasuage style’ floating containment barriers called ‘socks’ or ‘booms’ (booms being larger).

Vehicle small Workshop Spill Kit

• Are the typical Workshop Spill Kit more ‘general purpose’.
• Usually contain loose particulate sorbents and absorbents. Products with more of a ‘powdery’ consistency which you can spread over a spill and then sweep or shovel up.
• Socks are also usually included.
• It is a good idea to have a strong carry bag so you can get the spill kit to the spill.
• Now-a-days most companies prefer an organic absorbent as it is a much better environmental choice.
• Organic absorbents absorb far more than mineral and polypropylene based sorbents.
• Most vehicle spill kits are designed to pick up about 50lt or less. Occasionally an 80lt kit will be used in a vehicle but it is large and requires storage.
• Vehicle spill kits and small Workshop Spill Kits are often exactly the same.

Workshop Spill Kit or Spill Station

• the typical larger Workshop Spill Kit or Spill Station is usually contained within a 120lt or 240lt heavy duty Wheelie Bin
• it contains multiple Polypropylene Pads & socks
• multiple bags of a good organic sorbent like Absorbent 15 Floor Sweep
• Waste disposal bags and a Dust Pan & Brush
• And an instruction sheet

You can also use an 80lt kit bag but again the flexibility of being able to take the products you need to the site of a spill in a strong wheelie bin makes this the preferred choice of mos workshops. If a truck or delivery vehicle breaks down you can easily put a wheelie bin in the back of a small van or ‘ute’ and take it to the site of the breakdown. Wheelie bins are also ‘weather resistant’. In terms of weight an 80lt kit can be getting up to and over 20kg (depending on what you have in the bag) so you need to consider that aspect when you are making your buying choice.

When deciding on what type of spill kit you need try to work on 3 things:

1. How large is a typical spill?
2. Where is that most likely to occur?
3. What is my back-up plan for a very large spill?

Then design your Workshop Spill Kit and Spill Stations to cover you for both scenarios. If you are in any doubt there are experts who will audit you work site and make sure you have the right protection in place. A good auditor will also have a liability insurance in place to ensure that if they don’t get it right you are left with the bill.