Spill pallet and bund sizing calculator

Quick answers: UK bund capacity · SPCC secondary containment · IBC bund size · Spill pallet size for drums

Bund rules by country

Pick where the store is and what it holds, and the calculator applies that place’s rule. The rules differ more than most buyers expect: the same four 205-litre drums of oil need anything from 205 to 820 litres of containment depending on the country. Each row names the instrument and says whether it is law, a model code, guidance or common practice.

Check the local rule before you buy

The calculator applies the published rule for the place you pick, read from the official texts linked above on 3 October 2026. Treat its figure as the starting point. Rules change, many apply only above a threshold or to certain sites, and the result notes those limits when they matter. A site permit, an insurer or the fire authority can set a higher figure, and so can a store that sits near a drain, a watercourse or a flood zone.

The rule in England

In England the figure comes from the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001. Where one container stands in the bund, the bund holds 110 per cent of it. Where several share it, the bund holds 110 per cent of the largest or 25 per cent of the total, whichever is greater. Drums are the exception: a drip tray under them may hold 25 per cent of their combined capacity.

The regulations reach oil stored outside a building in containers of more than 200 litres, and oil includes petrol. They exclude:

• containers inside a building or wholly underground;
• any container of 200 litres or less, so a store of 20-litre cans is outside them;
• waste oil;
• a private home, unless a container there holds more than 3,500 litres;
• refineries, and premises that distribute oil on to other places;
• oil used on a farm for agriculture, which falls under separate farm fuel rules once the farm holds more than 1,500 litres in total.

Where a store sits outside the rules, the same arithmetic is still the right way to size a bund you fit by choice, and the calculator says so when it happens.

Worked examples

Standard 205-litre drums and 1,000-litre IBCs under the English rule. The last column is the lowest-capacity model in our range that holds the containers and meets the bund figure.

Two results catch people out. A single drum needs 226 litres in a bund, which a pallet with a 202-litre sump does not reach; on a drip tray the same drum needs 52. And two IBCs need no more than one, because 110 per cent of one IBC (1,100 litres) is more than a quarter of both (500).

Splitting a large store

Once a store outgrows one pallet, or mixes drums and IBCs, the calculator lists ways to split it, with every pallet or bund sized for what stands on it. Take 100 drums and 50 IBCs of oil in England, 70,500 litres in all. One fixed bund around the lot needs 17,625 litres, a quarter of the total. From pallets in our range the fewest units is 27: ten-drum pallets for the drums and triple IBC pallets for the IBCs. Four-drum and double IBC pallets take 50 units and 34 m² less floor.

A fixed bund needs the least containment, because every container shares the 25 per cent. Pallets give each group its own sump and move with the stock. Run this store in the calculator, then change the country to see the plan shift.

Capacity is one of five conditions

In England, regulation 3 sets four more. The bund must be protected from impact as far as is reasonably practicable. Its base and walls must be impermeable to water and oil. Nothing used for draining it may pass through them. And any fill or draw-off pipe through a wall must be sealed where it passes. A sump that holds the right volume but drains through a valve fails the rule.

Three checks stay with you. The pallet has to fit the containers, which is why the calculator matches drum and IBC counts. Its load rating has to carry them full, and a pallet moved on forks works to its lower dynamic figure. And an outdoor bund collects rain, so it needs freeboard above the working capacity. Our guide to choosing a spill pallet covers all three.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

All three use England’s figures: 110 per cent of one container, the greater of 110 per cent of the largest or 25 per cent of the total for several, and 25 per cent for drums on a drip tray. Their scope differs. Wales has no exclusion for oil stored inside a building. Scotland’s rule, General Binding Rule 28 under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 since 1 November 2025, reaches a 200-litre drum, where the other three nations start above 200 litres. Northern Ireland leaves farms to separate farm fuel rules that start at 1,250 litres.

The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

US federal rules size a bund on the largest container. The EPA’s SPCC rule asks for its full capacity plus freeboard for rain, at facilities holding more than 1,320 US gallons of oil above ground. The International Fire Code, which states and cities adopt, adds 20 minutes of sprinkler water indoors or a 25-year, 24-hour storm outdoors. The 10 per cent of the total often quoted for the fire code comes from the federal hazardous waste rules.

Canada’s National Fire Code asks for a barrier that contains the spill and sets no percentage. Its explanatory note sizes the spill to plan for: at least 1,000 litres for drums handled on pallets, since a forklift can spear a four-drum pallet, and at least the largest container for IBCs and tanks. The calculator applies both.

Australian law asks for spill containment without a number, and state guidance supplies one. EPA Victoria asks for 25 per cent of the total for drums, and its worked figure takes the greater of that and 110 per cent of the largest container, which the calculator applies. New Zealand sets figures in law. Its regulations size containment on all the liquid at the place, in three container bands: up to 60 litres, 60 to 450 litres, and larger. Each band is sized on its own and the results add up.

Singapore and Japan set no percentage for drums and cans. Both regulate tank bunds, and the calculator applies the 110 and 25 per cent rule there as common practice.

Put this tool on your site

Safety advisers, trainers and trade bodies can embed it free. Paste the code into any web page. The tool updates when we update the rules, and the credit line links back here. Building software instead? The same answer comes as JSON from our free API.

Common questions

How big does a spill pallet need to be for four drums?

For four 205-litre drums in a bund, 226 litres: 110 per cent of one drum beats 25 per cent of the total, which is 205. On a drip tray the English regulations accept 25 per cent, 205 litres. Our four-drum models run from 80 litres on a low deck to 488 on a high-sump pallet, and the smallest that passes in a bund holds 250.

What size bund does an IBC need?

At least 1,100 litres for one 1,000-litre IBC, which is 110 per cent of it. Two IBCs in one bund still need 1,100 litres, because 110 per cent of one is more than a quarter of both (500 litres).

Do 20 litre jerry cans need a bund under the oil storage regulations?

Not under the English regulations, which only reach containers of more than 200 litres. Bund them anyway where a spill could reach a drain: ten cans need 50 litres, a quarter of the 200 they hold, against 22 for one can.

Does the 110 per cent rule apply inside a building?

In England, no: the 2001 regulations exclude containers inside a building or wholly underground. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no such exclusion, so an indoor drum store there still needs the 110 and 25 per cent bund. Fire and workplace rules apply indoors everywhere, including the dangerous substances regulations wherever petrol is stored.

What size bund does Germany require for drums?

Under § 31 of the AwSV, a drum and container store of up to 100 cubic metres needs a retention volume of 10 per cent of the total, but at least the volume of the largest container. Four 205-litre drums therefore need 205 litres. A store of 220 litres or less in total is outside the AwSV, unless it sits in a water protection or flood zone.

Does the United States require 110 per cent containment for drums?

No federal rule sets 110 per cent. The EPA's SPCC rule asks for the capacity of the largest container plus freeboard for rain, so four 205-litre drums of oil need 205 litres before rain. The International Fire Code also starts from the largest vessel. The 10 per cent figure comes from the hazardous waste rules in 40 CFR 264.175: the greater of the largest container and 10 per cent of the total.

What bund size does Australia require for drums?

No national law sets a percentage. The Work Health and Safety Regulations ask for spill containment, and state regulators publish the figures. EPA Victoria's liquid storage guidelines ask for 25 per cent of the total for drums and small containers, and their worked figure takes the greater of that and 110 per cent of the largest. Four 205-litre drums therefore need 226 litres. Flammable liquid stores also meet AS 1940 where a regulator calls it up.

Is the calculator figure enough to comply?

It is the minimum the published rule sets for the place and liquid you pick. Many rules apply only above a threshold, and a site permit, an insurer or the fire authority can raise the figure, for example to hold rain or firefighting water. Confirm it with your regulator or a competent adviser before you buy.

What retention capacity does France require?

For ICPE sites under the authorisation regime, article 25 of the arrêté of 4 October 2010 asks for the greater of 100 per cent of the largest container and 50 per cent of the total. Where every mobile container holds 250 litres or less, it is 50 per cent of the total for flammable liquids and 20 per cent for others, with a minimum of 800 litres or the whole total if smaller. Four 205-litre drums of fuel therefore need 800 litres.

References

The standards and regulations this page relies on, at their issuing body. Where a market rule is named here, check the current revision before you specify against it.

• The Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001
• GOV.UK — oil storage regulations for businesses (containers of 201 litres or more)
• Defra / Environment Agency — guidance note for the oil storage regulations
• The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (England) Regulations 2010
• The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Oil Storage) (Wales) Regulations 2016
• Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001
• Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Oil Storage) (Wales) Regulations 2016
• Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018, Schedule 9
• Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010
• GPP 26: Safe storage of drums and intermediate bulk containers (NetRegs, 2022)
• EPA IPC Guidance Note on Storage and Transfer of Materials for Scheduled Activities (2004)
• Verordnung über Anlagen zum Umgang mit wassergefährdenden Stoffen (AwSV), 2017
• Arrêté du 4 octobre 2010 (ICPE soumises à autorisation)
• PGS 15:2021, binding through Besluit activiteiten leefomgeving art. 4.1012
• Real Decreto 656/2017, ITC MIE APQ-10 (recipientes móviles)
• EPA Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule, 40 CFR part 112
• International Fire Code 2024, adopted by states and cities
• EPA hazardous waste rules (RCRA), 40 CFR 264.175
• National Fire Code of Canada 2020, adopted by the provinces
• British Columbia Hazardous Waste Regulation, B.C. Reg. 63/88
• EPA Victoria Publication 1698, Liquid storage and handling guidelines (2018, reissued 2025)
• Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017
• National Environment Agency (Singapore), pollution control guidelines
• 危険物の規制に関する規則 (Regulation on the Control of Hazardous Materials)