How do I clean small pesticide spills?
Use a spill kit to clean up pesticide spills and drips when they happen. Whether you buy or make a spill kit, your spill kit must cope with the worst spill that can happen with the pesticide volumes under your care.
Cleaning small pesticide spills
Your spill kit must contain at least:
- sand, sawdust, soil, clay, cat litter or vermiculite to absorb pesticide spills
- shovel, broom and dustpan
- strong bag for waste
- label and pen
- strong plastic leak-proof drum or box able to contain the largest pesticide pack you have in your store
- emergency telephone numbers.
If you see or cause a small spill of liquid pesticide, check your pesticide label (and material safety data sheets) for advice. Protect yourself and wear the right PPE: wear gloves and boots at a minimum.
Keep people, animals and children at least 10 meters away: make sure no-one is downwind and if needed, rope off the spill site. Control the flow of the pesticide spill: if the source of the pesticide is a leaking pesticide pack, place the pack into the empty, leak-proof drum and seal the drum. If the spill is from a leaking knapsack sprayer put the knapsack sprayer into the leak-proof drum or a bunded site.
Stop the pesticide from spreading: spread sand, sawdust, soil, vermiculite, clay or cat litter around the spill to create a wall. Scatter more over the top of the liquid to absorb it. Block nearby drains and prevent the spill from getting into any ground or surface water.
Sweep up the material and place it into the strong plastic bag. Label the bag as hazardous waste and note the name of the pesticide on the bag. Seek advice from your supplier on how to dispose of this waste. If water becomes polluted tell your local authority so that they can take action.
Vacuum small spills of solid pesticide product using a high efficiency particulate absorption (HEPA) filtered vacuum cleaner. If a vacuum is not available use the broom and dustpan from your spill kit.