Portable Bunding: Containing Spills in Your Dam

With all the liquid in your dam, you’ll need some sort of protective measure. Enter: bunding. Known colloquially as bund, this system is designed for spill containment for any liquids, including water or even hazardous liquids. Leaks are captured much more easily when you have bunding, which is why I recommend it as a part of your spill management plan.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is Bunding?

Bunding is a type of retaining wall around potentially dangerous goods and liquids. So, if there is any spilled liquids or leaks, the bund wall prevents the “unintended escape of any materials until such time as a remedial action can be taken.”

Generally, it’s used to prevent leaks from tanks and pipes, but the term ‘bunding’ can also be used for dams if you use them to store liquids that could be polluting, for example on a farm.

Types of Bunding

Bunding comes in many shapes and sizes, including:

  • Floor bunding: Installed in workplaces to control chemical spills.
  • Intermediate bulk container (ICB) bunds: For bulk containers of 1000 litres.
  • Bunded pallets: Used for the safe storage of chemical and oil drums.
  • Bunded shelving: Protects hazardous liquids that are stored on open shelves.
  • Portable bunding: Not used for permanent storage, e.g. bund drums or pallets.
  • Collapsible bunds: Another type of temporary bunding used for remote worksites and temporary storage.

The type of bund you use depends on the class of dangerous goods you’re storing and the scheduled activities you need it for. Generally, an organisation needs to use a variety of bunding products as a secondary containment solution if they’re dealing with potentially polluting materials.

Do I Need Bunding?

Bunds and spill kits are useful in a range of industries, including agriculture. It can help to reduce run off and impound water for longer, allowing it to infiltrate the soil. In fact, bunding can be used to hold rainwater on a lightly sloping plain that has lost vegetation, whether this is due to drought or overgrazing. It gives the rainwater more time to permeate the soil.

But if you’re dealing with agricultural chemicals and other potentially hazardous liquids, it’s equally important to contain any spills, and this applies to farming and beyond.

After all, spilled liquid can lead to:

  • Health hazards: Both humans and animals can suffer due to contact with a chemical spill, or even the vapours associated with a leak.
  • Property damage: Flammable liquids and compressed gas can lead to extensive damage if not managed.
  • Risk of fire and explosion: Speaking of flammable liquids, certain chemicals can catch fire and cause even greater damage.
  • Water pollution: When chemicals enter the water system (through seepage or drains), they can pollute the supply.
  • Soil contamination: They can also seep into the soil and cause pollution.

So, how do you know if your activities require bunding to prevent these issues? Ask yourself these questions.

  • What are you storing? What are the potential environmental impacts of a spill?
  • How much liquid are you containing? Is there a large amount that would result in a catastrophic spill?
  • Is your workplace equipped to deal with the largest potential spill? How can you reduce clean up efforts?
  • How long will you store the liquids? Remember, liquid storage containers can fail at any time, but this risk increases with age.

You’ll need to carry out a risk assessment to figure out what spill kits you need.

Bunding Guidelines and Regulations

The Environmental Protection Agecy (EPA) has specific guidelines about bunding, so it’s important to check what they are in your state or territory. In fact, there are bunding guidelines to cover construction, storage, maintenance, and drainage.

Australian businesses must also comply with work health and safety (WHS) regulation on bunding. This states that all workplaces where chemical liquids are concerned must make efforts to prevent spills and leaks.

In other words, you have to use a spill containment system, such as bund walls, when storing liquids that could be harmful. Fines stretch up to $6000 for individuals and $30,000 for corporations if a spill occurs that you made no effort to manage.

Bunding for Flammable and Combustible Liquids

There are tons of reasons to use bunding, not least containing spills. When a spill does occur, it can quickly spread, and if that liquid is corrosive or flammable, then the damage can quickly mount. In the work place, potential ignition sources are aplenty, from electric equipment to stoves. So, it’s vital to try and prevent flammable spills.

Even if there’s no fire, there’s serious risk to the environment and human health. Workers may inhale or ingest these substances, which can lead to serious health effects.

Steel Bunds vs Polyethylene Bunds

When it comes to secondary containment measures, there are a few options you can take to prevent chemical spills. From portable bunding for managing spills in remote areas to heavy-duty bunded storage for more serious chemical spills, it’s important to choose the right material and stay compliant.

Generally, you can choose between steel and polyethylene.

Steel Bunding

Steel bunds are suitable for storing:

  • Flammable liquids
  • Toxic substances
  • Oxidising agents
  • Organic peroxides

According to the Australian Standard AS 1940-2017, flammable and combustible liquids must be stored safely to prevent them from contaminating the surrounding soil or water systems. These are the requirements:

  • The container needs to be impervious enough to prevent spillage and to enable the recovery of any spillage.
  • It must have chemical resistance and fire resistance as far as necessary.

As a result, portable bunding is not appropriate for permanent use because it doesn’t fit the criteria for chemical resistance. Even if portable or collapsible bunds are chemically resistant, they may not be safe for long-term use, which it’s important to invest in the right type of bund.

By the way, if you use steel bund systems that are made with corrosion-resistant sump liners, you can use them to store corrosive substances.

Polyethylene Bund Applications 

On the other hand, polyethylene bunding is suitable for spill containment of:

  • Corrosive substances
  • Toxic substances
  • Oxidising agents
  • Organic peroxides

Australian Standard AS 3780-2008 states that corrosive are substances that can cause severe damage when in contact with living tissue, or that can materially damage or destroy other goods or the means of transport.

It’s vital to store such substances in the correct bunding, which must be corrosion-resistant to prevent any issues.

Polyethylene bunding can be anti-corrosive, so the substances within will not damage the bund wall.

Final Thoughts

If ever you’re storing liquid, it’s important to know about bunding and its potential uses. When you understand the right types and materials, you can safely protect your materials and the surrounding area.

However, with all that said, it might be better to use a dam liner if you’re simply looking to protect the water in your dam. Explore our range today. Have a question?Contact us today.