Cleaning up: spill recovery service reduces response time.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: SUDBURY - Dallys Industrial Services Ltd

In the event of a workplace oil spill, a quick response is essential to preventing a moderate discharge from turning into a significant environmental mishap. Dallys Industrial Services Ltd. is introducing a unique first-response system that's designed to cut down reaction time to ensure a fast and safe recovery

"The big thing is, you have to keep it local," said Ken Zeitz, the production coordinator at Dallys. "If it gets away on you, well, then it's a disaster. But if you can keep it localized, it's no big deal."

Based in Falconbridge, an outlying community of Sudbury, the company manufactures components for the diamond-drilling industry but is also a distributor of Pigmalion Environmental spill cleanup products, primarily servicing the mining industry.

It's through the environmental-cleanup arm of the company that Dallys has set up a self-serve spill-response station that will allow clients to access the supplies they need when they have a spill.

Dallys has fenced off a mini-shop at the back of its warehouse where customers can pick up supplies at any time of the day. Registered clients will be given an access code, and once inside, can open the garage door, load up a truck with the supplies they need and lock up before they leave.

"People would be able to come in and take whatever they require," Zeitz said. "We'll have a sheet there--they fill out what they've taken--and then in the morning there will be a purchase order for that issued."

On the shelves is a range of heavy-grade products, all colour-coded for easy identification, that should meet any client's needs, Zeitz said.

There are absorbent pads for hydraulic and engine oils that won't leach out into a landfill; Multisorb, a non-silica-based granular absorbent useful in underground environments; drain covers; and "socks" used to contain spills on water ways. Garbage bags, aprons, gloves, goggles and booties are all available to make the cleanup as easy as possible.

Pigmalion owner Kendra Dunlop said Dallys is the first distributor to introduce this kind of initiative, although her company is looking at instating a similar system with a distributor in Toronto.

"We saw a need and we're trying to be as responsive as possible to our...