How to notify us over the holiday period.
Notifications  
If someone has been seriously injured, become seriously ill, or died as a result of work – phone us on 0800 030 040 straight away. We have staff available to respond to these 24/7.
If you’re not sure what a notifiable event is, including your obligation to hold a scene, visit What events need to be notified?
Notifications made through our online form won't be monitored between 12pm on Tuesday 24 December 2024 and 8.30am on Monday 6 January 2025.
If you’re not sure if you need to notify us, use our online notification system and we’ll respond to you after 6 January 2025.
Health and safety concerns
If you have a health and safety concern that isn’t urgent, use our online form and we’ll respond to you after 6 January 2025.
Raise a health or safety concern
General enquiries
General enquiries made by phone or email after 12pm on Tuesday 24 December will be responded to from Monday 6 January 2025. This does not apply to notifications made by phone on 0800 030 040.
We wish you a safe and relaxing holiday.
Secondary containment is an extra safety measure to avoid pollution of the environment or harm to people or property in case there is a spill or leak from a container or tank.
What is secondary containment?
The main container, such as a package, drum, or bulk tank, holds a hazardous liquid and keeps it safe in everyday storage.
However, if the main container breaks or leaks, a second safety system is needed. This secondary system must be able to contain the hazardous substance and safely collect it, so that no one gets hurt and no property or environment is harmed.
Different types of secondary containment can be used depending on the situation and the type of hazardous substance. Examples include spill trays, liners, double-skinned tanks, and bunds.
Secondary containment is required for all types of storage, for example, drums, packages or intermediate bulk containers (IBCs). It applies to liquids and substances that are likely to liquefy in a fire.
Secondary containment requirements in the regulations
The Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 (the Regulations) set out threshold quantities above which a secondary containment system must be provided.
The threshold quantities depend on the hazard classification of the substance and the size of the container. The threshold quantities can be found in the Regulations as follows:
- Flammable liquid, solid - Classes 3, 4: Table 9 in Schedule 9(external link)
- Oxidising - Class 5.1.1: Table 5 in Schedule 10 (external link)
- Organic peroxide - Class 5.2: Table 7 in Schedule 11(external link)
- Toxic, corrosive and ecotoxic - Classes 6, 8 and 9: Schedule 16(external link)
Secondary containment for fuel storage
Under the Regulations secondary containment is not required for storing less than 1000 litres of petrol and there are specific requirements for the storage of fuels on farms.ÂÂ
Read more: Above ground fuel storage on farms
Secondary containment calculation tool
We have a tool that can help you work out how much secondary containment you need for different amounts of hazardous substances in different storage types.
Applying to change secondary containment requirements for tanks
Our application forms relating to secondary containment are available below:
Last updated