HAZMAT controlled in Nanneella

A chemical spill at the corner of Webb and Winter roads was reported about 6.20pm after the contents of a container that fell from a vehicle ended up on the road.

The 20-litre bucket was labelled as containing a corrosive material, with emergency services treating the incident as a HAZMAT situation and closing the road.

“For us, that triggers a HAZMAT response,” CFA Campaspe catchment co-ordinator Paul Elso said.

“That type of job is particularly technical, (with) potentially high consequences to the health and safety of our people and community, so treated really cautiously.”

Specialist crews from Shepparton with high-level protective clothing, decontamination gear and devices to monitor and determine the substance were able to identify the material as non-toxic.

Mr Elso reminded the community to be careful reusing chemical drums for other purposes and provided some tips.

“One is making sure they’re thoroughly cleaned and right to use with whatever you want to use them for,” he said.

“Secondly, if there are any labels that don't apply any more, they’re removed or covered up.

“That takes the confusion away.”

He also encouraged people who transport potentially hazardous or risky materials to brush up on the handling of these goods.

“There are all sorts of rules and regulations that cover labelling, handling, storage, transport,” Mr Elso said.

“Farmers and people in those different industries are used to those things every day, but it’s really important that it’s all followed.”

Due to the high-risk nature of HAZMAT or chemical spill situations, responding to these incidents may be time-consuming.

Mr Elso thanked the community for its co-operation and recognised the hard work of CFA crews.

“It’s not a real common type of incident, and it is a ‘go-slow’ and make 100 per cent certain of what we’re dealing with and how to deal with it,” he said.

“Great job (to) our CFA volunteers in dealing with this.”

Anything suspicious on the road should always be reported to 000.