I'm hoping for a little feedback from the rest of you on the matter of absorbent products in the workplace; currently we're in the process of examining different absorbent product options on the market. We're now narrowing down the options available based on a couple of factors, such as how the product affects worker health, environment friendliness or lack thereof, cost, etc.

Are there are other members on this forum who went through a similar comparison? Is there anyone who's currently satisfied with their product? What sort of things did you look at to help you make a final decision (or, if you've never done this, what sorts of things would you look at if you were in a similar position)?

Thank you in advance for any feedback or help, as we really do want to pick a great product that helps our workers AND doesn't hurt the environment. But that still gets the job done!

When discussing absorbents it would help of you gave an indication of what you are trying to absorb - oils, white lubricant waters, concentrated or dilute acids / alkalis etc.- unfortunately I am yet to find a "one product suits all solution" despite various manufacturers claims.

Also the reason for needing the absorbent - accidental unintentional release response kits, leaking process component (maintenance is the better remedy especially for ISO 14001), poor working practices (re-training is the remedy).

We have three different absorbent "spill kits" at site - one in the engineers for lubricants, one in the laboratory and a different one by our bulk storage tanks all sized relative to the anticipated potential release.

My apologies, I thought I'd included that information originally. We're most concerned about addressing potential oil leaks and any possible fuel leaks as well. Currently we narrowed our options down to a couple NewPig items or an absorbent called SpillFix, and we were mostly interested in testimonials about effectiveness from other users. Any stories related to absorbents addressing those two key items (fuel and oil) would be great!

There are no leaks to fix. As I said, we're in the process of selecting the best absorbent product to replace our current one in our emergency spill kits. I had hoped for some feedback on different products to help with the selection.

He also used the words possible and potential. I took that to mean no current leaks to fix but is considering the future.

I would say an appropriate granule type is better than the snakes / pads you get. That way you can make little dams to prevent spread or just drop on top.

All just MHO

Am I the only one that uses cat litter?

Safety Smurf - In my experience kitty litter is a horrible oil spill cleanup tool. It leaves lots of residue and a lot of brands are awfully dusty to use. No thanks.

Thanks for your feedback hilary! Your approach sounds like the best one for sure.