This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Diseño de un protocolo para la utilización de productos absorbentes en caso de derrames sobre suelo o agua

The 26/2007 environmental responsibility Act that analyses and evaluations, as prevention, control and mitigation measures

Design of a protocol for the use of absorbent products in the event of spills on soil or water

Juan a. Vílchez and White Star, Dr. Industrial Engineer and Industrial technical engineer of TIPs-procedures, reports and projects, S.L. 20/04/2010

April 20, 2010

The existing legislation on prevention of labour risks, law 31/1995 (Art. 20 on emergency measures), through the different decrees of development, establishes the need to adopt measures appropriate front potential emergency situations. The development of environmental legislation on protection of water and soils, has driven the need to equip itself with elements of intervention appropriate to deal with situations of spill in case of not be addressed adequately and urgently so, may be direct cause of contamination of the environment.

The law of responsibility environmental 26/2007, along with the regulation of development 2090 / 2008 and the standard UNE 150008, established that prevention, control and mitigation measures are considered in the analyses and assessments of the environmental risks,, as important elements in making assessments of probability, effects, and damage in the event of accidental spills.

Against this legal background a company distributor of spill absorbent products contacted with paperwork, reports and projects, S.L. (TIPs) with two objectives:

-Order the drafting of a technical Protocol, and at the same time simple and informative, on how to implement its key products.

-Make the design of a suitable booklet, with attractive elements of image and style, that was easy to manage and manipulate.

This article presents the result, accompanied by a descriptive argued of the main elements incorporated the design.

The Protocol should be designed considering not only the technical effectiveness of the absorbent product, but security conditions to guarantee for its use

Identification of content

The Protocol was designed considering not only the technical effectiveness of the absorbent product, but also the conditions of security to ensure its implementation through the use of personal protective clothing. Also should be completed with basic information about how to identify the danger of the product to absorb or contain. With these conditions the technical team of engineers from TIPs, specialists in risk analysis and contingency and self-protection plans, proposed the following structure of contents:

-Justify why the document is important.

-Specify how to seek help in an emergency.

-Indicate how to delimit the danger.

-Provide regulatory information on how to identify hazardous substances.

-Describe the basic forms of personal protection (gloves, helmet, boots, etc.).

-Explain how to contain and mitigate the spill.

-Describe how collecting and removing the effusion, stressing the importance of managing the waste.

-Give guidelines of behavior for the end of the emergency and for the necessary investigation into the incident.

-Book a room for annotations in the design of the brochure.

-Include a guide to compatibility between chemicals and absorbent materials.

The Protocol should also complete with basic information about how to identify the danger of the product to absorb or contain

The booklet layout

The first version of the document identified immediately the importance of a proper graphic design, which should be carried out by a professional. The design should include:

-A spelling and colour system according to the company's corporate image.

-A structure blocks highlighted and numbered on the guidelines to follow in the sequential implementation of the Protocol.

-Distribution of content compatible with a system of bending that would reduce the size of the information and avoid the handling of a sheet. With these objectives, the brochure was designed so that it could be folded to A6 (1/4 of an A4) size according to the attached figure.

The design of the brochure makes it possible your question and handling under appropriate conditions.

Results and conclusions

The result of joint work graphic ingenieros-diseñador is shown in the brochure present in this article. It was presented as a novelty at Sicur 2010 fair with remarkable success and is currently distributed with the supply and delivery of the products of the company.

The experience gained in development of informative content, graphic design and adaptation to the needs of the client, has determined that TIPs has decided to incorporate in its range of services the preparation of brochures, leaflets, posters and other designs appropriate for the dissemination of safety and the environment in the business. All of this as a complete service covering all the phases: design, graphic design, printing, framing and presentation.