Retrofitting Containment Curbs for Safety

 

Incidental spills in mixing areas in agricultural environments are dangerous to the environment and humans.  Nearly three-fourths of all pesticide accidents occur to non-users of the material, including children and livestock.  This occurs from poisonings from accidental contacts with improperly stored and contained pesticides.  Providing secondary containment, such as a containment curb, prevents contamination from occurring which protects the surrounding environments.  Spills can occur when materials are manually added to mixers or if fluid piping systems and conveyors leak.  It is impossible to avoid all spills, therefore provisions must be made to contain the material before it escapes into the environment.  Michael F. Broder studied “Building A Seconday Containment System,” which explains the benefits of installing a containment curb in mixing areas.

Regulations on secondary containment areas vary by state.  Before installing a containment curb, a complete evaluation of pre-existing secondary containment options should be completed.  In Part 1, Operational Assessment, Broder includes a checklist indicating the primary items of importance when assessing a pre-existing facility.  Number six on the evaluation checklist states: “Is the mixer restricting output? Should a second mixer be installed or can overhead loadout hoppers or tanks be used? Can a product dump tank be used to speed liquid output?”  When installing a containment curb, the volume of the curbed area must be at least equal to the volume of the mixing tank being contained.

Since pesticides and fertilizers are corrosive, concrete is often used as the curb material.  Once concrete containment curbs become wet, employees are at risk of slipping and injuring themselves while working on the mixing tanks.  Regular cleaning of mixing tanks and equipment is regulated as well, therefore containment curbs must handle water runoff and contain it from escaping.  To prevent injuries from slipping under conditions such as cleaning or an accidental spill, a slip resistant containment curb cover is encouraged to be retrofitted to a pre-existing containment curb.

SLIPNOT manufactures a permanent slip resistant solution that is ideal for containment curbs in mixing areas.  Steel plates with slip resistant coating retrofitted onto a containment curb as a containment curb cover will protect workers from slipping and falling while cleaning up a spill or working on mixing tanks in wet conditions.  SLIPNOT galvanized Steel Grip Plates® will not corrode from the harsh pesticides and fertilizers, and on containment curbs will prevent these materials from escaping and harming the environment.

Broder, Michael F. “Building a Secondary Containment System.” Office of Scientific & Technical Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <www.osti.gov>.

Sumner, Paul E., and Michael J. Bader. “Pesticide Storage and Mixing Facilities B 1095.” (n.d.): n. pag.Pesticide Storage and Mixing Facilities. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.

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