Efficient Mercury Spillage Cleaning

With years of professional experience and access to specialist cleaning techniques, we’re well-equipped to handle any situation that arises in Rochester.

Safety and efficiency are our top priorities during extreme chemical spills like mercury. Our cleaners will arrive on-site in proper PPE and quarantine the area quickly to ensure nobody is at risk of mercury exposure. A survey shall include an air purity test and an assessment of the spill size. These results will determine a plan of action that adheres to health and safety regulations.

Our technicians combine industrial-leading technology with specialised chemicals, effectively containing, cleaning, and decontaminating an affected area. While our workers are on-site, they can answer any questions you have about the process. Before they leave, they will conduct another air purity test to ensure the complete neutralisation of mercury vapours.

What is a mercury spill risk assessment?

Mercury has a workplace exposure limit (WEL) under the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK. Therefore, any workplace that stores, handles, or uses mercury requires a frequent risk assessment. Mercury has a WEL due to its toxic nature and the physical hazards it presents to an individual exposed to it.

An employer must carry out a risk assessment at least once a year per health and safety laws. To properly conduct a chemical spill risk assessment, you should read the guide provided by Health and Safety Authority or check the steps below:

• Make an inventory check of everything in your workplace, including chemical, waste, and purchase orders.
• Identify chemical hazards and ensure all chemical storage containers are labelled with the name and their hazards
• Assess the potential exposure to your employees: how it is used, exposed, and the length of exposure, etc.
• Enforce control measures: additional control measures, more training, appropriate safety equipment, etc.
• Record and review with your team, collect their feedback and use the conclusions drawn to make your workplace safer.

What type of health and safety training should workers take?

The HSE's guide on mercury exposure recommends your employees are prepared for a possible spill, you should have appropriate training and supervision. You must have a supervisor on-site to ensure safe work procedures are followed and that workers know the hazards and risks present. Training should involve all employees, managers, and supervisors — and these talks will cover:

• How to follow safe working procedures
• How to use equipment properly
• How to use respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and how to maintain it
• How to contain a spill with spill kits and PPE
• What to do if there is a spill or an accident

We cover all areas in the Medway area of Kent, including:

• Allhallows
• Brompton
• Chatham
• Chattenden
• Cliffe
• Cuxton
• Frindsbury
• Gillingham
• Halling
• Hempstead
• High Halstow
• Hoo St Werburgh
• Isle of Grain
• Rainham
• Strood
• Upnor
• Wigmore

What types of workplaces have exposure risks to mercury?

Despite strict regulations around the use of mercury, it is still widely used due to its highly conductive nature. Traces of mercury are used in electrical devices and sometimes for the chloralkali process to produce chlorine gas and caustic soda. The mercury cell process for this production is now phased out in Europe but remains prevalent in North America and Asia-Pacific.

In the UK, occupational exposures are still possible as mercury is still present in some products sold nationwide. Those that work in these environments are most at risk of mercury exposure:

• Factories that produce electrical equipment, automotive components, or measuring devices
• Chemical processing plants that continue to use mercury
• Dental practices where dentists and their assistants use mercury amalgams
• General waste facilities where mercury products were disposed of incorrectly
• Recycling facilities for electrical equipment and fluorescent light bulbs