AusSpill Association (AA) members are seeking spill control industry stakeholder support for the establishment of an Australian Standard for spill kits & absorbents.
This follows the positive reaction to AA’s adoption of a standard for spill kit colouring and labelling, to provide consumers with easier and safer identification – to be phased in by late 2017.
Established in 2012, AusSpill Association (AA) represents Australian spill control manufacturers, resellers/wholesalers & importers as a single voice to government, the Australian public and the environment protection industry.
Chairman Scot Abernethy, said AA had already begun lobbying industry stakeholders for their support for an Australian Standard.
Mr. Abernethy said there are currently a broad range of suppliers and manufacturers in Australia for spill response kits and materials used for the control of liquid spills. These companies supply their products mainly to industrial organisations over a wide range of industries including construction, manufacturing, transportation, mining, oil and gas, energy, utilities and local government.
“These products are used to clean up spills for oils and fuel, non-aggressive liquids as well as hazardous chemicals. Regrettably, many of the products used to clean up some spills are incompatible with other spills, for example, cellulose products are commonly used to clean up spills of general liquids such as oils and paints, but can create a fire hazard if used to clean up strong acids or oxidising liquids.”
Mr. Abernethy added that there is currently no consistent system for the labelling and identification of the products or the spill kits in which they are typically supplied. This makes it very difficult for the individuals that are required to use these products, to select the appropriate product or kit to clean up a spill safely.
“Suppliers and manufacturers of these products currently make claims regarding the performance of their products, such as the absorbent capacity, which are not based on a consistent testing methodology to support these claims. “This makes comparing the performance and value of different products difficult for the consumer.
“An Australian Standard for spill kits and absorbents would provide consistency for the labelling and identification of these products to ensure that they are used appropriately and to assist consumers to make informed decisions”, Mr. Abernethy concluded.
For further information:
Please contact AusSpill Secretary secretary@ausspill.com.au
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