Everything You Need to Know about Bunding

Bunding is used to manage the hazards associated with chemical spills and is commonly used by Australian businesses as part of their secondary containment strategy. In the simplest of words, a spill bund is an embankment or wall that form’s part or all of the perimeter of your spill containment area.

 Some examples of bunding systems are commonly used in workplaces, and these include steel bunds, drum bunds, floor bunds, intermediate container bunds and more, to name a few. 

Hazards Associated with Chemical Spills and Leaks

Spills and leaks within the workplace can result in a range of issues such as: 

Water pollution: if secondary containment measures are not well employed, chemicals can enter the water systems through drains or through seepage.

Soil contamination: chemical spills can seep into the soil and contaminate the environment.

Health hazards:  people can be harmed due to contact with the chemical spill, leak and/or associated vapours. 

Property damage: chemicals such as flammable liquids, explosives and compressed gases can cause extensive damage to property and surrounding areas. 

Risk of fire and explosion: certain chemicals can catch on fire or explode if they are near an ignition source.

Types Of Bund Products

There are a variety of spill containment bunds with temporary and permanent options available. With this in mind, your choice of bund will be determined by the class of dangerous goods that you are using and storing in your organisation, as well as the individual requirements of the space you have. 

Some types of bunds commonly found in Australian workplaces include: 

Bunded pallets / drum bund: to store chemical and oil drums safely. 

Bunded shelving: to protect hazardous substances while being stored in open areas in the workplace. 

Floor bunding: installed to control chemical spills on workplace floors. 

Intermediate bulk container (ICB) bunds: for hazardous liquids that are stored in bulk containers of 1000 litres. 

Bunding For Flammable or Combustible Substances

Containers are not just designed to prevent spills, but also to prevent other hazards in the workplace. When in contact with such dangerous substances, spills can move quickly, increasing the risk of encountering possible ignition sources such as open flames, hot surfaces and the like, this can lead to chemical fires and the like. 

In addition to the risk of property damage and environmental damage, chemical spills and leaks pose incredible health risks. Chemicals can be accidentally inhaled, splashed in the eyes, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin. This can then put your organisation at risk for acute health effects. 

If your organisation works with or stores such flammable liquids or substances, you are required by law to design a secondary containment plan and apply the tight containment products to ensure safety.

Is Your Bunding Compliant?

When it comes to employing a bund, you must have a plan in place, this plan encompasses how the bunding will be used, and how it will be kept compliant. 

To keep your bunding compliant, you must ensure that you know which liquids you are storing, and thus how they must be stored safety in line with the Australian Standards. When storing flammable liquids indoors the standards maintain that the safety bunds must be manufactured to the standards.

In short, to summarise information from the standard, if you are storing flammable liquids, they must be kept in steel bunds to prevent a fire hazard. Additionally, you must ensure that the bunds cannot succumb to corrosion from the corrosive chemical. So, polyethylene bunds are suitable for the safe storage of corrosive substances. 

Choose Spill Station’s Bunding Solutions

If you’re in the market for the best bunding, you must look to the Spill Station’s bunding offers permanent and portable bunding at competitive prices, and always compliant with Australian standards, taking the effort out of your hands.