Spill Containment Blog

Spill Containment Blog

Spill Containment and Spill Cleanup Solutions

Why Should I Buy American-Made Absorbents?

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Whether you’re buying absorbent products for use in your home, garage, or workplace, you have plenty of options to choose from. And while it may be tempting to choose your purchases based solely on price or convenience, there are other factors to consider, too: quality, eco-friendliness, and even where products are manufactured.

American-made goods and the American economy

Made in USA on flag logo.

You may have heard that buying American-made products is good for the country’s economy. But while many often toss this concept around, they tend not to explain in depth.

There are a few reasons why purchasing from American businesses benefits our national economy. First, American businesses employ American workers. This means your purchases help create and maintain American jobs. In fact, if each American citizen spent an extra $3.33 on American-made goods, it would create almost 10,000 new jobs.

Also, when you spend your money at American businesses, that money is then passed on to the American workers employed there, keeping that money in the American economy.

Buying American is eco-friendly

Of course, buying American-made goods doesn’t just mean supporting our economy — it also means supporting our planet.

No imported products logo.

Shipping isn’t just expensive — it’s also a major cause of pollution. By purchasing products made in the US, products don’t have to travel as far, conserving fuel and reducing the environmental footprint of that product. Additionally, not every country has the same environmental regulations surrounding manufacturing. That means products created in other countries may not be as “green” as products made here in the United States. In fact, Chinese production of goods for American consumption has had a significant effect on air pollution.

And of course, the absorbents themselves can help protect the environment by preventing hazardous waste from entering bodies of water and soil as well as protecting against oil spills and stormwater pollution.

Stock up on American-made absorbents for summer

If you’re looking for absorbents from an American company that stocks many American-made products, look no further! Here are five AbsorbentsOnline.com top sellers for you to pick up for summer use, be it at home or work.

  1. Absorbent pads: These easy-to-use absorbent pads and rolls soak up liquids quickly — and you can ring them out and reuse! They’re available in a number of materials for use on different kinds of spills.
  2. Oil absorbent booms: These oil absorbent booms float on water to make marine spills easy to handle. They’re made from recycled materials right here in the USA!
  3. Spill containment pallets: Store your drums on these spill containment pallets, capable of accommodating up to six drums. These modular units are low profile, easy to connect, and made in USA from recycled materials.
  4. Rag rug absorbent floor mat: These absorbent mats are made from recycled materials and designed to absorb all types of grunge without appearing dirty. They’re even strong enough for high traffic areas.
  5. Spill kits: No matter what kind of liquids you work with, there’s a spill kit for your needs. We can even create custom spill kits just for your facility.

shop products

When you make a purchase, you vote with your dollar — by using your money to support a business. When it comes to absorbents, why not make sure that business is American?

Have questions about which absorbents are right for your needs? Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Forklift Safety Is Overlooked: Learn Why and What to Do About It

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forklift operator wearing PPESince their invention in the early 20th century, forklifts have become not just useful, but necessary machines in any industrial setting. These powerful and versatile tools have greatly expanded our abilities to lift and move large objects easily — but that power, when not handled properly, can easily become dangerous.

Last month, an employee at a Florida building products company was pinned between a forklift and some metal shelving, and died after being transported to the hospital. A few months before, a New Jersey construction company employee backed his forklift over a coworker, who was left in critical condition.

There are enough tragic news stories like these. To avoid adding another one to the list, there are two main hazards that are important to avoid:

  1. Hitting head on the overhead cage
  2. Slips, trips, and falls (especially feet slipping off a step)

Although these may seem like simple mistakes to avoid, when you’re using a forklift every day, it’s easy to grow complacent with repetition. Make sure you’re following these best practices to avoid forklift accidents.

  • Keep your hands clean and dry to prevent slipping when grabbing the handhold.
  • Check your shoes for grease before entering the vehicle.
  • Grasp the handhold (not the steering wheel) with a solid grip when entering the vehicle.
  • Watch your footing carefully when entering or leaving the vehicle.
  • Lower your body carefully when exiting the vehicle (do not jump down).
  • Wear appropriate footwear.

shop forklift matsTo improve forklift safety in your workplace, try our forklift mat. This mat not only helps to prevent slips and falls by absorbing hydraulic fluids, oil, or battery acid that may leak from forklifts, but it has the added bonus of protecting your floors from these leaks as well.

This superabsorbent polypropylene mat has a non-penetrable, non-skid vinyl backing and won’t be damaged by forklifts driving over it — even through many years of use. Prevent slips and falls with this affordable product, which comes in rolls, allowing it to be cut to the desired length.

email iconDo you have the right safety products on hand for your workplace? To find out, contact Angie Meza at angie@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Which Floor Dry Absorbent Should I Use On A Spill?

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floor dry granular absorbentWhen you have a non-aggressive fluid spill, do you know which floor dry absorbent will take care of the problem? The answer depends on what was spilled — and, of course, how much.

Familiarize yourself with the different kinds of granular sorbents in order to ensure that when you have a non-aggressive fluid spill, you’re prepared to handle it quickly and efficiently. Not to mention, help keep your facility in compliance with OSHA by minimizing slip and trip hazards.

Granular absorbents to dry up floor spills

Here are some granular floor dry absorbent options, depending on which fluids you might be dealing with:

For small spills and routine maintenance, Super Sorbent is your best bet. This granular sorbent comes in small, easy-to-use shakers that can be distributed throughout your facility to make spill response quick and painless. This sorbent will work on oils, coolants, solvents, and water.

Gran-Sorb granular absorbentDealing with a larger spill? Consider using Gran-sorb. This sorbent has a 1:1 absorbency rate, so 15 pounds of sorbent will absorb 15 pounds — which is equivalent to approximately 2 gallons — of oil. Besides being great for dealing with oil spills, Gran-sorb can also handle lubricants and most other non-aggressive liquids.

Are you only concerned about oil spills? For this specific use, the Peat Moss Absorbent floor dry is a good choice. This sorbent is an all-natural, biodegradable option specifically for oil spills and can be incinerated after use.

If you’re looking for a heavy-duty absorbent, look no further than Corn Cob Absorbent, which can hold an astounding four times its weight in fluids! This biodegradable floor dry product is made from ground corn cobs and is appropriate for water, solvents, oils, and coolants.

Like any absorbent product, different floor dry absorbents are designed to meet different needs. It is always wise to have a variety on hand so you can be prepared for any kind of spill!

Travis ZdrazilWant to learn more about absorbents for your facility? AbsorbentsOnline can help. Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or toll free on (800) 869-9633.

What Is an Approved Safety Can and Which Type Do You Need?

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approved safety canAn approved safety can is needed when you store flammable or combustible liquids — such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, propane, isopropyl alcohol, and various oils — at your worksite. You can’t just use any container. And that’s all to do with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance.

OSHA regulations state that when flammable liquids are stored inside a building, they must either be in a storage room, in closed metal containers in a storage cabinet, or in an “approved” safety can. A non-approved can may not be unable to withstand a corrosive material, contain vapors, or tolerate heavy-duty use.

When is an approved safety can necessary?

So what is an approved safety can? It’s a can that meets OSHA’s specifications for flammable liquids storage as described in 29 CFR 1910.106. Such a can may hold up to 5 gallons, must have a spring-closing lid and spout cover, and be “so designed that it will safely relieve internal pressure when subjected to fire exposure.”

For construction worksites in particular, regulation 29 CFR 1910.155(l) also requires safety cans to have a flash-arresting screen. And finally, to be considered approved, the can must be “listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory” — for example, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or another organization in OSHA’s NRTLs list.

Safety cans aren’t a “one size fits all” product. Many types are available for many different types of liquids and materials:

  • Type 1 versus Type 2 — What’s the difference? Type 1 safety cans use the same spout for both pouring and filling, whereas a Type 2 safety can has separate openings for pouring and filling.
  • Color coding — Industry-standard colors for storing flammables are yellow for diesel, red for gasoline, blue for kerosene, and green for oil combustibles.
  • Materials — Depending on what the can is designed to contain, different materials may be required. For example, galvanized steel is an excellent way to store ethanol, but a poor way to store acetone. Make sure you are ordering cans that are compatible with the substance you need to store.

Safety cans can be a flexible and essential tool, but only if you have the right ones for your needs!


Travis ZdrazilWant to learn more about approved safety cans? AbsorbentsOnline can help. Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

LEED Your Facility to Cost Savings

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Why LEED certification is good for your business

Green Urban Development ConceptMore and more business leaders are becoming aware of the need to reduce their carbon footprint by incorporating sustainability practices into their businesses. But “going green” doesn’t have to mean making a sacrifice for the greater good. You can save the planet and lower your operations costs in the process. It’s a win-win!

One option that enables businesses to make long-term improvements to their facilities’ sustainability is LEED certification. Several types of this certification are available, among them LEED for Existing Buildings: Operation and maintenance (LEED EB: O&M). With the building replacement rate in the U.S. at less than 2%, making existing buildings greener is arguably the most important step we can take toward sustainability. And when working with existing buildings, going green is a process of constant improvement rather than a set of finite tasks.

Companies that enroll in the LEED program can make changes to many aspects of their buildings’ operations, such as retrofitting building systems with energy-efficient technologies and purchasing eco-friendly consumables. And of course, a building’s sustainability efforts must be ongoing — certification doesn’t mean taking a few steps and stopping there.

Earning LEED certification

A building can earn points within specific categories (called credits), such as energy performance, indoor air quality, purchasing, and interior lighting. Those points are then added up to determine whether a building can earn certification.

LEED certification can provide benefits such as reducing your facility’s energy consumption and making your workplace healthier. But by investing in the certification process, businesses can also realize real cost savings. Here are some of the ways that making your building greener through the LEED program can save your company money:

  • Tax credit eligibility — Although they vary by location, state and municipal tax credits are available for companies that work toward sustainability.
  • Rebates and other financial incentives — Utility companies are eager to offer benefits to qualified companies. In addition, various fees are often reduced or waived for companies seeking to improve sustainability.
  • Reduction in water usage and costs — By making your water usage more efficient, you can reduce your water bills — for example, by using a cooling tower for an HVAC system.
  • Lower energy costs — Decrease energy costs by reducing energy consumption or even incorporating onsite renewable energy sources.
  • Improved building safety — For example, long-life LED lighting reduces risk of potentially costly accidents.
  • Even lower building insurance costs — One of the less well-known financial incentives for improving building sustainability is building insurance discounts that can lead to savings of thousands per year.

There’s no doubt about it: Business sustainability practices are more important than ever. But they don’t just have a good impact on the environment; they can also have a good impact on your wallet. LEED certification allows you to have the best of both worlds, saving money and the planet at the same time.

LEED-Friendly Products

AbsorbentsOnline offers the following products that may help your facility qualify for LEED credits (for example, the LEED O+M: Existing Buildings Purchasing – Ongoing credit).

Rags:

Towels and wipes:

Angie MezaDo you have the right safety products on hand for your workplace? To find out, contact Angie Meza at angie@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Absorbent Pad or Pillow: Which Do You Use — and When?

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absorbent-pads

In any workplace where liquids are used — be they oils, chemicals, water, or other substances —employees have to be prepared to clean up leaks and spills.

To make your spill cleanups quicker and safer, you can use any of a number of absorbent products, such as those available at AbsorbentsOnline.com. Two of the most commonly used absorbent products are absorbent pads and absorbent pillows.

At first glance, absorbent pads and pillows don’t seem too different: A pillow is thicker than a pad, and slightly more expensive. But those aren’t the only differences between these products —absorbent pads and pillows actually have very distinct uses. Knowing what those uses are can help you choose the right absorbent product to prepare for spills in your workplace.

  • Absorbent pads come both individually (sold by the case) and in rolls. Supplied in large quantities, pads are geared toward all-purpose use — for wiping up or absorbing small leaks, placement in spill kits, and even to reduce slip and fall dangers.
  • Absorbent pillows are for heavy-duty spill containment. They absorb more fluid than an absorbent pad can, and they also fit well into tight spaces, such as a fluid reservoir, waste trough, or hard-to-access area of machinery.

Use your knowledge of your workplace’s needs to determine which absorbent products you should have on hand. Many workplaces like to stock both pads and pillows, so that they are prepared for any eventuality.

AbsorbentsOnline.com offers a variety of high quality absorbent pads and pillows at budget-friendly prices. Our offerings include:

No single absorbent material is ideal for every spill situation. To ensure that you have the materials you need to clean up fluid spills quickly and safely, stock up on the absorbent pads and pillows that best suit your needs.

Want to learn more about absorbent pads and pillows? AbsorbentsOnline can help. Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Are Your Workers Protected from Hazardous Chemical Risks?

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Handling chemicals in a laboratoryDespite scores of regulations from OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and various other governmental entities, hazardous chemical exposure is still a pervasive problem in many workplaces. In fact, OSHA publicly acknowledged the problem last fall, bringing it into the spotlight and inviting industry representatives into a “national dialogue” to discuss solutions and tackle the monumental task of updating permissible exposure limits (PELs).

Even the most safety-conscious employers cannot take hazardous chemical safety for granted. Accidents can happen all too easily — it only takes one careless mistake to result in devastating consequences that can harm employees’ health, the environment, the vitality of the business, and more.

In light of the renewed attention to hazardous workplace chemical dangers, it’s a good time to review your own facility’s chemical safety plan and ensure you’re doing enough to mitigate the risks of hazardous chemical exposure.

The first step
The first step toward better hazardous chemical safety is to confirm that all employees understand precisely what a hazard is. According to OSHA, hazardous chemicals (and common materials that contain hazardous chemicals, such as paint and cleaning compounds) can be categorized as a health hazard, a physical hazard, or another hazard type (such as combustible dust). A health hazard is a chemical that can cause acute or chronic health effects in exposed employees. A physical hazard is a chemical that could cause non-health related physical damage.

The OSHA Hazard Awareness Advisor is a great resource for educating your business. The advisor helps general industry employers and workers identify possible safety and health hazards in their workplace, then directs them to OSHA standards that address those hazards. This tool can be particularly helpful to small employers who don’t have the means to hire safety and health professionals to evaluate their workplace.

The next steps
Once you understand what constitutes a chemical hazard, take these further steps to keep your employees safe:

  • Get employee buy-in. It’s vital that your employees understand the correct procedures for using and disposing of chemicals, and why safety is crucial.
  • Identify all hazardous chemicals in your workplace. Check the information available in the chemical manufacturer’s MSDS or product labeling to determine which chemicals are hazardous. You should also be familiar with PELs for every chemical used in your workplace, and establish practices to reduce workers’ exposure to these harmful substances. And remember: When classifying hazardous materials, it’s always best to err on the side of caution.
  • Do a personal protective equipment (PPE) inventory. Make sure you have the necessary respirators, ear protection, eye and face protection, head protection, safety gloves, and other PPE for working with the chemicals used in your workplace. Make sure workers can easily access this equipment, and understand when and how to use it.
  • Review your chemical spill response supplies. Ensure you have the correct materials on hand to quickly respond to a chemical spill.

Whether you’re a company leader, manager, or team manager, you can’t afford to take hazardous chemical safety for granted in your workplace. Keep your hazardous chemical safety procedures up to date, and make sure that employees at all levels fully understand and employ those procedures when working with chemicals.

Do you have the right safety products on hand for your workplace? To find out, contact Angie Meza at angie@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Find these hazardous chemical safety and spill response supplies at AbsorbentsOnline.com.

Which Is Better for Incidental Spills: Shop Rags or Absorbent Pads?

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Oily rag and car oil dipstick Ah, yes — the good old-fashioned shop rag. They’re a convenient way to clean up incidental spills and prevent slip-and-fall injuries, reusing them can help your business’s sustainability efforts, and they never go out of style!

But cloth rags can only absorb a limited amount of spilled liquid. In a shop or garage where minor spills and leaks are frequent, you may find yourself going through a lot of rags quickly.

There’s a better way
If you’re looking for a longer lasting and more efficient alternative spill cleanup product, you should consider absorbent pads and rolls.

Absorbent pads and rolls are available as a universal absorbent to absorb any liquid (gray), oil-only to absorb hydrocarbon fluids only (white), and hazmat for aggressive fluids (yellow). The patented layers are designed for all work areas and can absorb water, greases, oils, and other mechanical fluids.

Their durable construction makes the pads and rolls less likely to fall apart or tear. And best of all, they’re easily disposable!

But what about the cost?
At first glance, the shop rags seem more cost-effective, simply because they often cost less than the absorbent pads and rolls. But consider the following:

  • Rags must be laundered or disposed of after each use.
  • Rags tear and fall apart with use.
  • You may have different sizes of rags, and thus need more for a single cleanup.
  • You may need to buy new batches of rags frequently.

Unlike shop rags, our spill cleanup absorbent pads and absorbent rolls protect work areas because they catch the spill as it happens. Additionally, they absorb a lot more liquid than rags. For example, a single heavy weight Universal Absorbent Pad absorbs 37 ounces of liquid; our Spill Cleanup Absorbent Roll with Backing absorbs 18 gallons per roll.

It’s a good idea to have rags on hand for minor cleanup jobs. But with the help of absorbent pads with backing, you’ll find yourself wiping up incidental spills a lot less frequently — and saving money in the long run.

Want to learn more about spill-cleanup products? AbsorbentsOnline can help. Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Did You Know?
Several of AbsorbentsOnline’s absorbent pad and roll products are on sale for a limited time! Compare our pad and roll to the same products sold elsewhere. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at our low prices!

“Ramp Up” Your Load-Moving Safety

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Yellow loading rampIt’s no wonder why many industries use handcarts. When used properly, handcarts are a safe way to move loads from one place to another, such as when transferring products from a delivery truck to a customer. But when used incorrectly, hand trucks, dollies, and wheeled carts can be sources of safety missteps when combined with curbs, steps, and uneven surfaces. Pulling a fully loaded hand truck or cart up stairs or over a curb could displace and damage loaded items, or worse, injure the worker.

To avoid handcart safety hazards like these, you need the right tools — tools that can protect both your employees and your products. For situations like these, portable loading ramps offer a convenient safety solution. Such ramps are even recommended by OSHA to improve ergonomics for beverage delivery workers.

All about ramps
So what constitutes a portable ramp? They’re typically made from metal or high-density polyethylene. While both materials have their merits, high-density polyethylene ramps are lighter than metal ramps and have non-slip surfaces that are safer for workers in wet conditions.

Three primary types of portable ramps are available:

  • Loading dock ramps bridge the gap between a loading dock and a truck’s loading area. You can use them with hand trucks, two- and four-wheeled dollies, carts, and pallet trucks.
  • Curb ramps can be used with hand trucks and wheeled carts. These ramps allow you to move loads over curbs or steps.
  • Container ramps are used with hand trucks and dollies. These ramps hook to the container’s door-keepers to make unloading the container easier.

Keep safety in mind
Remember: Using a safety ramp isn’t the only thing you need to do to ensure safety when using handcarts.

Make sure that if you’re using a hand truck, cart, or dolly, you always follow good safety and ergonomics practices to reduce the chances of an injury or accident. For example, use safe lifting techniques to load and unload the truck, and place the heaviest objects at the bottom.

Portable ramps are an easy and economical way to make your loading, unloading, and delivery operations much safer, faster, and more comfortable for your employees.

Have questions about which portable ramps are right for your needs? Contact Travis Zdrazil at travis@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.

Portable Loading Ramp Products
AbsorbentsOnline.com offers these durable, portable ramp products for your workplace and delivery needs.

Loading dock ramp

  • Can bear up to 750 pounds, but weighs only 32 pounds.
  • Has beveled entry and exit edges with a non-slip raised surface.
  • Has a 4-inch height differential capacity.
  • High-visibility yellow color prevents tripping.

Curb ramp

  • Can bear up to 1,000 pounds, but weighs only 11 pounds.
  • Raised, non-slip surface provides excellent traction in all weather.
  • Raised side rails prevent carts going over the edge of the ramp.
  • Will work on curbs and steps up to 8 inches high.

Container ramps

  • Hook-rail attaches to a container’s door-keepers.
  • Resists cracks, dents, and weather.
  • Weighs only 25 pounds.
  • Three-point contact and support keeps ramp secure.

Make Safety a Way of Life in Your Workplace

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Is safety a key value and essential part of day-to-day life in your workplace — part of your company’s culture? It should be.

Why build a culture of safety? For two reasons: productivity and profitability. A safe organization will run more productively, with fewer employee injuries (and associated absences) and fewer safety infractions that interrupt work. A safety culture can make your organization more profitable for the same reasons; a fully staffed, healthy workforce means the work gets done without costly injuries that impact your bottom line.

Building a strong safety culture starts with these three best practices:

1. Secure a strong buy-in from key influencers.

The 80/20 rule applies to an organization’s culture: 20% of staff set the culture, and the other 80% follow it. The 20% who really influence your company’s culture — typically, highly respected mid-level managers and senior employees at all levels — must be on board with the safety standards and policies. This means involving those staff members early on in the process of planning and forming safety policies.

The other benefit of involving these influencers is they have intimate knowledge of the day-to-day job. Recall from this article that the primary reason employees don’t follow safety procedures is because of discomfort or frustration with their personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety equipment. Influencers are working in the trenches with the rest of the team, so they’re in an ideal position to explain why following the correct procedures and using safety equipment is important.

2. Set clear goals, standards, and consequences.

Management must define easy-to-understand safety standards and communicate them clearly. With clear standards in place, management should also clearly communicate the consequences of not following safety standards, enforce those standards, and provide both corrective measures and incentives or rewards, as appropriate.

You also need metrics that assess your organization’s safety program. In addition to tracking incident rates, consider using proactive metrics such as the number of infractions cited, safety meeting attendance, and safety pop quiz results. Another way to gauge the effectiveness of your safety program is to rate staff members for their role in promoting safety either quarterly or at an annual review.

Additionally, managers and their teams must have the tools they need to be safe. Such tools include PPE as well as other safety products that are relevant to the job and work materials: for example, fall protection, absorbent mats, and absorbent pads and rolls that reduce risk of slip, trip, and fall accidents.

3. Constantly improve your process.

Safety policies and standards should not be a “set-and-forget” idea. Teams should conduct regular safety meetings to discuss how the equipment and policies are working. Company leadership should provide opportunities for employees to suggest ways that the company can be more productive and make better equipment investments. Make safety a way of life for your organization, not just an ideal or something only taken seriously when someone is watching.

Do you have the right safety products on hand for your workplace? To find out, contact Angie Meza at angie@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.