What procedures should be followed after a fuel spill?

Immediate cleanup, hazard assessment, and reporting to authorities is crucial after a fuel spill for several reasons. First, fuel spills pose significant safety hazards, including fire risks, environmental contamination, and health risks to individuals nearby. Prompt cleanup is needed to mitigate these hazards and prevent the fuel from spreading.

Conducting a hazard assessment allows for evaluating the situation effectively, ensuring that appropriate protective measures (such as PPE) are in place, and determining the best cleanup methods. Notifying the relevant authorities is also essential, as fuel spills may require regulatory compliance actions, and local environmental protection bodies need to be alerted to prevent ecological damage.

Other options do not address the immediate need for safety and environmental protection effectively. Waiting for a spill to dry could lead to dangerous conditions and does not resolve the underlying hazard. Merely ensuring that no one is close to the spill does not eliminate the risk posed by the fuel itself, and covering the spill with sand might complicate the cleanup process and not effectively absorb or contain the fuel, potentially leading to further contamination.