Hazmat Spill Volume and PPE

You've taken your Hazwoper training, and you are part of a hazmat team for your employer. But what do you need to wear and use when you respond to each type of incident?

I'm looking for information from other hazmat gurus on what type and level of PPE needs to be used to clean up flammable liquid spills.

For example:

  • Spills of 5 gallons or less
  • 5 gallons to 55 gallons
  • More than 55 gallons

Does the volume make a difference in PPE requirements? What about if the spill occurs inside versus outside of the building? Are you going to handle it differently?

Regular Tyvek® works okay for powders, and Saranex® works well for most liquid spills, but if you were to use either one with flammable liquids and there was a flash fire -– you could end up roasted, toasted, and well wrapped up.

Enter your comments here in the blog, and let's see what going on out in Hazmat world.

Barry Weissman, [email protected]

Posted by Barry R. Weissman on Feb 07, 2013


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