Are your spill pallets legally compliant for use in the UK?

In 2001 the UK saw the first Oil Storage Regulation enacted for England, since then both Scotland and Northern Ireland have enacted their own regulations and Wales currently have theirs in draft.

Although each regulation is country specific they do share many key points including the capacity of the sump of a secondary containment system, typically these are in the form of spill pallets manufactured from steel or rotationally moulded plastic designed (Read More) 

to hold drums or IBCs on a “deck” above a fully contained sump.

The regulations clearly state a secondary containment system must satisfy the following requirements:

It must have a capacity of not less than 110% of the container’s storage capacity
or

If there is more than one container within the system, of not less than 110% of the largest container’s storage capacity
 
or

25% of their aggregate storage capacity, whichever is the greater

As you would expect there are a wide range of companies offering spill pallets for sale in the UK and the vast majority of them are manufactured to ensure compliance with UK regulations, however there are products on sale that have been designed to comply with regulations in other countries which have different legal requirements to the UK, namely they only hold 100%, not the 110% required, and therefore are not legally compliant in the UK.

Remember if you cause pollution or allow it to occur, you may be committing a criminal offence.

You can download a copy of the relevant Oil Storage
Regulations from our Advice Centre,
www.empteezy.co.uk/pages/oils or feel free to
contact us to discuss your specific requirements.

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Tel: 01506 430309 ext: 206 or 208
Visit: www.empteezy.co.uk