Preventing pollution: preventing spills and leaks

Limiting spills and leaks from happening in the first place, and having measures in place to limit the damage if there is a spill or leak.

Questions to ask yourself

• Do you immediately fix any obvious leaks or drafts?
• Have you audited your processes to make sure your inputs and outputs add up?
• Do you use water level controls and splash guards?
• Have you considered installing overflow alarms?
• Have you considered using secondary containment?

Canadian companies preventing pollution

The following examples come from Canadian companies that have reported to the National Pollutant Release Inventory:

• a coating facility purchased chromic acid in solid flake form, thus eliminating the potential for spills of chromic acid
• a fabricated metal manufacturer installed automatic shut-off valves and overflow alarms to ensure that spills are addressed
• a primary metal manufacturer has implemented secondary containment within its operating facility leading to a reduction of waste generated by accidental releases
• a chemical manufacturer updated and field-tested its product loading and handling standard operating procedures to reduce the risk of spills

Related links

• Create and implement your pollution prevention plan
• About the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)
• Incorporating pollution prevention into environmental management systems