hazardous chemical - Spill Containment Blog

The Do’s and Don’ts of Cleaning Up a Liquid Mercury Spill

January 3, 2020 by Travis Zdrazil

Everything you need to know about mercury spill kits and safe clean up

Mercury may be in thermometers, electrical components or dental fillings

Also referred to as quicksilver, liquid mercury is a highly toxic chemical that’s often found in a variety of workplace devices. Just a few examples include thermometers, barometers, and float valves. Often electric components, like switches and relays, contain mercury. It also remains in use in some fluorescent lighting and dental amalgam fillings. As well as scientific research laboratories, of course.

Have you ever seen this fascinating liquid metal in a school science lab? If so, you’ll remember it’s a completely unique substance to observe. It certainly behaves unlike most fluids or metals at room temperature.

But, it’s due to these unique characteristics that mercury spills require a different clean up approach. In the event of a spill, it’s important to follow proper mercury cleanup procedure. Otherwise, there’s a greater risk of mercury poisoning for anyone who comes into contact with it. Poisoning can occur through direct skin contact, absorption, vapor inhalation, or, ingestion.

Even minimum exposure to mercury can be deadly. Which is why specialty equipment is necessary for mercury spill control and clean up. That’s because this silver liquid metal easily breaks into small droplets and “scatters”. Using a mercury spill kit to absorb, neutralize and suppress mercury vapor is essential to minimize danger.

So to learn more about the do’s and don’ts of cleaning up a liquid mercury spill, keep reading.

Don’t: Use a vacuum cleaner on mercury spills

Liquid mercury has unique properties. It rolls over surfaces and breaks into droplets

Never attempt to clean a liquid mercury spill using a vacuum cleaner. A vacuum’s suction pressure will force microscopic mercury particles into the air rather than containing it. This results in higher mercury exposure to anyone in the surrounding area.

A vacuum cleaner might seem like a good idea initially, but it’s far too dangerous to use with mercury. Spreading the mercury into the air creates a significantly more dangerous hazmat environment. So, keep the vacuum turned off!

Don’t: Sweep mercury with a broom

Another common mistake when cleaning liquid mercury spills is sweeping it with a broom. As previously stated, mercury possesses unique characteristics. One of which is the ability to ‘ball’ up rather than spread evenly, like water or water-based substances.

If you attempt to sweep liquid mercury with a broom, chances are you’ll only spread it around. Rather than having just a few large drops bunched together, you’ll have dozens or even hundreds of smaller drops scattered across the floor.

Do: Wear protective gear during mercury spill clean up

Thick latex or nitrile gloves and goggles are essentials when working with mercury spills

Always wear protective gear before attempting to clean up a mercury spill. Due to the high toxicity of liquid mercury, even skin contact is toxic. Don a pair of thick, professional-grade latex gloves along with protective safety goggles.

And remember that even with this PPE gear, you should avoid direct contact with liquid mercury.

Do: Use a squeegee for mercury cleanup

If you aren’t supposed to use a vacuum cleaner or broom, how exactly do you clean liquid mercury spills? Fortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offer helpful instructions about how to safely clean up mercury spills.

For example, it recommends using a squeegee or piece of cardboard to push mercury into a single pile. Next, use an eyedropper to transfer it into a damp paper towel. You can then place the mercury-filled paper towel into a sealed plastic bag. Lastly, contact your local health or fire department to have them properly dispose of the liquid mercury biohazard.

Mercury clean up kits 101

Keep a mercury spill kit on hand for safe clean up of this hazardous material

If your workplace has any equipment that contains mercury, having a specialized spill kit on site is a no brainer. Next, we’ll outline some of the basics about clean up kits and safely dealing with a mercury spill.

What’s in a mercury spill clean up kit?

A mercury spill kit contains all the essentials to safely clean, decontaminate, and dispose of the hazardous waste. The main content is typically a mercury absorbent, encapsulating, or amalgamation powder. Clean up tools will include a scraper, wipers, dust pan and disposal bags. Some types of kits may contain things like chemical sponges, aspirator bottle, or spatulas. All kits will contain appropriate PPE, such as thick nitrile gloves and goggles.

How do I use a mercury spill kit?

First, put on safety goggles and gloves. Next, sprinkle absorbency powder around the spill site to completely cover the mercury. The mercury absorbent powder bonds to, and transforms, droplets into a solid material like zinc amalgam. It also acts as a vapor suppressor to limit exposure to this toxic substance.

After a few minutes, sweep up the stabilized mercury using a hand broom and dust pan. Decontaminate the spill surface area with mercury clean up wipers to remove any residues. Finally, transfer all used kit hazmat materials into a disposal bag and seal it with a twist tie.

Shop chemical spill kits and more at AbsorbentsOnline.com

We offer a wide variety of spill kits to help keep your workplace safe

We offer a wide range of spill containment and hazmat clean up products for quick order.

Browse our mobile spill kits, battery acid spill kits, indicator powder neutralizers. Find spill control products like containment berms, absorbents, and wipers. We also stock containment pallets for IBC totes and overpacks. Not to mention a wide selection of safety cabinets and safety cans!

Contact us for advice about anything from storing hazardous materials, to spill containment.

This is a revision to a post with an original publish date of October 17, 2013

Are Your Workers Protected from Hazardous Chemical Risks?

January 19, 2015 by Travis Zdrazil

Interiors of a laboratory

Despite 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.

The Dangers of a Nitric Acid Chemical Spill

December 23, 2013 by Travis Zdrazil

Danger nitric acid warning Also known as aqua fortis, nitric acid is a highly corrosive acid and equally strong oxidizing agent that’s frequently used in the production of fertilizer and rocket fuel. Due to its dangerously corrosive characteristics combined with toxic fumes, however, nitric acid spills create a serious hazard to nearby workers.

If you own or manage a company that handles nitric acid in any way, shape or form, you should have a plan in place for safely cleaning up a spill.

To learn more about the dangers of a nitric acid spill and how to clean them, keep reading.

Permissible Exposure

Let’s first talk about the permissible exposure limits of nitric oxide, as this is a topic that is often times avoid or misunderstood among companies and business owners. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) currently states that the permissible exposure for nitric acid is 2 parts per million parts of air over the course of eight hours. Companies can refer to the NIOSH report for more information on permissible exposure limits of nitric oxide.

Dangers of Nitric Oxide Exposure

Nitric acid gas and fumes may cause eye, throat, respiratory and skin irritation. Prolonged exposure to high levels of nitric acid can lead to severe eye burning and even blindness. Exposure levels of nitric acid are oftentimes gauged by viewing the employee’s skin; minor exposure may have minimal impact on the skin, but severe exposure can result in severe burns.

Warning: combining water to a nitric oxide spill may only make it worse. Water not only spreads the acid, but it also reacts to it. The bottom line is that you should never attempt to clean up a nitric oxide spill using water.

Cleaning Up a Nitric Acid Spill

Nitric acid spill cleanups first begin with the right personal protection equipment (PPE). As previously stated, both the fumes and direct exposure to liquid nitric oxide are hazardous to humans; therefore, workers should gear up in a pair of industrial-grade safety glasses along with gloves, lab apron, and a respirator. Once the worker is properly geared up in the appropriate PPE, they can begin to clean up the spill.

There are several different solutions available for cleaning up a nitric acid spill, but it’s usually best to use some form of acid absorbent. An acid neutralizer absorbent, for instance, will safely soak up the nitric acid. And once the acid is fully soaked up and neutralized the powder can be disposed of.

Pesticide Storage 101: How To Safely Store Pesticides

November 20, 2013 by Travis Zdrazil

Pesticide storage cabinet

If your company produces, transports or handles pesticides, you’ll need to safely store them to reduce the chance of an accident. While some pesticides are more toxic than others, nearly all professional-grade pesticides pose a serious risk to both humans and the environment. Allowing these chemicals to spill in your workplace may cause direct injury to nearby employees, and it could leave your company vulnerable to fines and sanctions. For more information on how to safely store pesticides, keep reading.

General tips for storing pesticides

Avoid storing near flames or heat sources.
Keep an itemized list of your pesticides so you know exactly what’s being stored in your workplace.
Never mix your pesticide storage cabinet or facility with non-pesticide products.
Keep flammable liquids away from pesticide.
Read the labels for more information regarding the specific type of pesticide.
Display the phone number for the poison control center nearby.

Storage Cabinets

The safest and most effective technique for storing pesticides is to use a professional-grade cabinet. Safety cabinets such as this offer the highest level of protection while minimizing the chance of a spill or accident. Some companies simply place their pesticides on an open shelf where workers can easily knock them over. A smarter solution, however, is to invest in a professional-grade safety cabinet. This will keep your pesticides safely locked away where there’s no chance of a worker accidentally knocking them over.

There are several different types of safety cabinets available, including flammable liquid storage models, pesticide storage models, and drum safety models. Assuming you are purchasing one strictly for pesticide, you’ll want to choose a pesticide storage cabinet. These models are constructed using either steel or polyethylene, offering an exceptional level of strength.

Whether your company handles insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or any other type of pesticide chemical, a safety cabinet offers the perfect method of storage; they’re durable, feature a locking mechanism, leak-proof, and contain multiple shelves (depending on the particular unit).

Choosing The Right Pesticide Safety Storage Cabinet

Choose a model that’s large enough to house all of your pesticides but small enough to fit comfortably in your workplace.
Consider how many shelves it offers and whether or not they are adjustable.
Steel and polyethylene are two highly effective materials used in the construction of pesticide safety storage cabinets.
Check to see whether or not the storage cabinet offers a locking mechanism.