Color-Code Your Spill Cleanup
When you reach for an absorbent sock to contain spilled or leaking fluid, do you stop to think about the sock’s color? You should!
Color coding doesn’t just look nice. It has a serious purpose: to help workers respond to a spill quickly and clean it up safely. Each color indicates the sock’s purpose and serves as a safety precaution for workers in the spill area.
Benefits of color coding
Color coding offers several advantages. First, the sock color informs workers at a glance about the spill type — alerting them to steer clear of dangerous spills if they do not have the right safety equipment. Second, color coding can help you train new employees about spills and which socks they’ll need to clean up different substances. Finally, the color coding system saves you money. Using the wrong sock for a spill is a waste of resources, but when the color clearly indicates the sock’s purpose, mistakes are less likely to happen.
Color coding systems vary between businesses, but AbsorbentsOnline has fine-tuned a smart, easy-to-understand coding system for chemical socks.
Hazmat yellow
Yellow indicates a chemical spill absorbent sock for aggressive and non-aggressive fluids. Although a yellow sock is typically used to contain acids and bases, you can also use it to contain unknown liquids. The bright yellow color makes a hazmat chemical absorbent sock stand out from its surroundings, warning employees to avoid coming into contact with the sock unless they have the proper equipment.
Oil-only white
White socks are used to absorb oil-based fluids (hydrocarbons). They repel water as well, and will not sink even when saturated with oil. Use oil-only absorbent socks to dike and absorb spilled oils.
Universal grey
Grey socks indicate general-purpose use. They are the best choice for industrial applications in containing non-aggressive fluids. The grey color is designed to hide dirt and blend in with surroundings, and the socks are commonly molded around leaky equipment and machinery. The grey universal absorbent sock indicates to workers that the absorbed fluids are not dangerous to handle.
Because the absorbent socks are non-biodegradable, you can wring them out and reuse them, which saves you additional money on recovered spilled fluids and on the socks themselves.
If you don’t have a color-coding system for your own facility, take advantage of AbsorbentsOnline’s system for decoding the purpose of absorbent socks. Your employees — and your wallet — will be better off for it.
AbsorbentsOnline is here to help. Feel free to contact us by email or call toll free at (800) 869-9633.
