Personal Protection Equipment Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

Personal Protection Equipment Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

I have often been asked why we don’t supply Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) with our spill kits as standard equipment.

As its name implies, such equipment is meant to be tailored not just to the individual, but also to suit that particular individual’s field of work. It’s important to correctly specify the PPE to match the chemicals that have been spilt. I have seen many cases of spill kits containing PPE which was inappropriate for the chemicals stored in that area. It would be better to have not have any PPE, than the wrong PPE, which may provide a false sense of protection and potentially expose the individual to hazardous situations. Unless we have been given a clear idea of the chemicals the spill kit is intended to handle, we simply can’t specify which PPE is required.

We are not alone in this view,  as can be seen in blog excerpt below from our good friend Mark East from SAPIRA UK:

“The need to provide PPE for your staff when dealing with a chemical spill is an obvious necessity. Providing the correct PPE for each of your employees is not easy. The issues that need to be addressed are:

• Matching PPE to the MSDS for each chemical on site
• Ensuring that the PPE will fit each person. This may mean that each person has to be individually fitted. Respirators typically need to be fitted to each individual to ensure a gas tight fit
• Where to store the PPE so it is available in a spill emergency.

Most suppliers of spill kits are very professional about their approach to kit specification. The first thing to notice about a spill kit is that it does not contain PPE. That shows a company who understands where the line should be drawn between the supplier and the risk assessor. I recently saw a competitor’s offering where this was not the case for a chemical kit, picked at random, from the web as a result of a search for chemical spill kits. They required a lot of training and explanation for any responder and demonstrated all of the typical pitfalls of kits a company seeking certification to ISO 14001 may be tempted to buy.

The sales patter for the kit stated: ‘Suitable for hazardous chemical spills. Comes in a 240L Blue wheelie bin. Ideal for all small to medium industrial workshops, paint suppliers, panel shops.’

Sounds nice doesn’t it? But what’s that I see? PPE, supplied with the kit! Brave company and obviously visionary; they know the size of the responders and the chemicals that the kit is going to be used on! These responders must be pretty special people as well or related, way back, to pearl divers. It looks like they are going to work alone and be able to hold their breath for a long time. Ask your health and safety advisor what the implications are of providing a worker with the wrong PPE. Consider further the implications of deploying equipment for use in incidents and emergencies without providing the appropriate training. I normally try to encourage anyone specifying spill kits to address the issue of PPE selection within the industrial environment they operate. This is a difficult task but critical to the safety of spill responders.”

As well as ensuring you purchase the correct PPE, it’s also important to locate it in an area where it is easily accessible should a spill occur. The obvious options are:

1. In the spill kit itself (my preferred option)
2. In a locker near the spill kit (also acceptable)
3. In the site store (the least desirable).

The third option is the worst option as the time taken to fetch the PPE and return to the incident scene can be unacceptable. The large time delay can be an irresistible temptation for some employees to clean up a spill without any protection (the vision of Mark’s pearl diver swims into view).

The first option is always the best for prompt response, however, we must be sure it is Personal Protection, in other words, designated for a specific person.

The second option of a dedicated locker is probably a reasonable compromise to store clean, individual, dedicated PPE for each employee working within the area.

To conclude, the selection and maintenance of spill kit PPE is not a trivial issue and requires your diligent attention.