What is a battery spill kit?

by Danille Bettridge, Web Store Specialist

While looking at Raymond Handling Concepts Corporation's (RHCC) materials handling web store, you might come across an item called a spill kit, but you might not know what they are or why they're important.

What is a battery spill kit? It is a package of materials and supplies that are used to clean up and neutralize battery acid spills.

Battery spills can happen when replacing batteries with cracked cases, which allow the acid to leak. RHCC's battery spill kits meet the following OSHA and DOT requirements for packaging and transporting hazardous wastes:

1926.441(a)(5)- “Face shields, aprons, rubber gloves and quick drenching facilities shall be provided for workers handling acids or batteries”
1910.178(g)(2)- “Facilities shall be provided for neutralizing spilled electrolyte”
OSHA Regulation 1910.132- “All employers must provide equipment for cleaning up hazardous materials such as battery acid”

What are the contents of a spill kit?

The kits include the following pieces of wearable gear to ensure that your workers are dressed protectively when cleaning up battery acid:

Apron to cover body and clothing
Acid resistant gloves to protect hands
Safety goggles to shield eyes
Disposable boot covers to protect shoes and feet
Dust mask to cover mouth and nose
Face shield for protection of the face

All of RHCC's spill kits found in our Materials Handling Store are designed to help you quickly respond to and clean up battery acid spills. Each item in our kits is strategically packed so you can quickly dress yourself in the safety gear, contain the spill, neutralize and absorb the acid, and DOT-approved containers for transporting and disposing of the acid and clean up supplies. The kit also includes all the necessary tools for a proper battery acid clean-up:

Bucket or barrel with locking lid
Brush and pan
Disposable plastic bags
Danger sign
Six-foot barrier rope
Absorb bags and containers
pH test strips
Large kits include neutralizing/absorb pillows

How to use a spill kit

All employees that work in environments with batteries need to be trained on where to find and how to use a spill kit in the event of a battery acid spill.
Employees should learn the procedures to follow during and after the clean-up of an acid spill, to ensure proper clean-up and disposal.
It is important to remember the proper packing of a spill kit, in the case the kit is unpacked and then not re-packed in the proper order. It is to be packed in the order that you will need the materials to allow the acid spill to be cleaned up in the quickest and most thorough way possible. Refer to the information found in your kit, but the general packing order is as follows:

1. Personal protective equipment is on top to remind employees that the first step is to put on the safety gear.

2. Danger sign and isolation ropes are next so that employees can cordon off the spill and warn others of the hazard.

3. Absorbent materials used to clean up the spill are packed next.

4. Lastly, plastic bags and other tools that will be used to clean up the debris and spill (such as the broom and pan) should be at the bottom of the kit.

Assuring that everyone is properly trained and that the kit is set-up in the most efficient way possible creates a more prepared environment in case of a battery acid spill.