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Everything facility managers, engineers, and applicators need to know about secondary containment — what it is, when regulators require it, how polyurea coatings compare to alternatives, and how ArmorThane systems are specified and installed.
“Secondary containment is the last line of defense between a facility and an environmental release. This guide covers every aspect — from federal regulations to coating chemistry to compliance documentation — so you can make the right specification decision.”
Secondary containment is the backup barrier that catches a leak when a primary container fails. If the primary container is a fuel tank, chemical drum, or process vessel, the secondary containment is the berm, dike, sump, or lined pad around it. When the primary leaks, the secondary holds what escaped until it can be recovered.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines the standard clearly: secondary containment must be sufficiently impervious to contain leaks, spills, and accumulated precipitation until the collected material is detected and removed. That definition sets the bar for every coating system, liner, and design choice that follows.
Secondary containment is any engineered system — berm, dike, sump, spill pallet, tray, or coated surface — built to capture and hold a spilled liquid long enough for it to be cleaned up before it escapes into soil, groundwater, or a waterway.
Two layers of protection exist for a reason. The primary container does the day-to-day work. The secondary system exists because primary containers fail — welded seams crack, gaskets degrade, operators overfill, equipment ages. Without secondary containment, one failure becomes an environmental release, a regulatory action, and a cleanup invoice that dwarfs the coating that would have prevented it.
In the United States, secondary containment is not optional for most facilities that store oil, fuel, or hazardous chemicals. Two federal rules drive most requirements, with state and local codes adding further requirements on top.
The Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule applies to non-transportation-related onshore facilities that could discharge oil into U.S. waterways. Covered facilities must provide containment sized for the largest single container plus precipitation freeboard.
Outdoor containment must add capacity for rainfall. The common engineering convention is to size for the largest container plus a 25-year, 24-hour storm event on the exposed containment footprint. Indoor containment: container volume only.
Under 40 CFR 112.8(c)(2), bulk storage container installations must have secondary containment to hold the entire capacity of the largest single container plus sufficient freeboard to contain precipitation.
For hazardous waste container storage areas at permitted facilities. Requires a base free of cracks, sufficiently impervious to contain leaks until detected and removed.
Containment capacity must equal the greater of: (a) 10% of the total volume of all containers, or (b) the volume of the largest single container. Plus a means to remove accumulated liquid in a timely manner.
This standard drives facilities to a sprayed polyurea or polyurethane coating. Concrete alone is porous to hydrocarbons and many solvents. A coated concrete pad meets 264.175 in a way bare concrete cannot.
Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code — applies to fuel depots, dispensing stations, and industrial sites handling flammables.
Applies to fuel and bulk storage on military installations. ArmorThane systems installed on U.S. and allied military assets for decades.
Most states run their own aboveground and underground storage tank programs. State rules can be stricter than federal. Always confirm with your state environmental agency.
Not every containment situation calls for the same design. Six configurations cover the majority of real-world applications. The right system often combines more than one approach.
Raised barriers of compacted soil or clay surrounding tank farms. Earth alone is not “sufficiently impervious” — must be lined with sprayed polyurea over geotextile reinforcing fabric to meet EPA standards.
Most common industrial construction. Strong and fire-resistant but porous to hydrocarbons unless coated. Applying polyurea over properly prepared concrete creates a seamless, impervious system meeting RCRA 264.175.
Sumps collect spills at low points for pump-out. Trench drains route spills to a central sump. Both require coating systems handling immersion, chemical exposure, and mechanical punishment of debris and cleaning.
Prefabricated polyethylene or steel pallets for drum and tote storage. Useful for smaller operations or interior storage of limited quantities. Portable but fixed capacity — not a substitute for a lined pad at scale.
For large footprints — frac tank pads, oilfield containment, mine leach ponds. Geotextile fabric provides tensile reinforcement; sprayed polyurea provides the impervious, chemically resistant surface. Installs faster than welded HDPE.
Portable, bolted-panel systems for temporary operations — rig moves, emergency response, construction staging. Fast to deploy but temporary. For permanent installations, spray-applied systems consistently win on total cost of ownership.
Polyurea is a spray-applied elastomer formed by the reaction of an isocyanate component with an amine resin. The reaction is fast: on a heated plural-component sprayer, gel times are measured in seconds and tack-free times in minutes. Three properties make polyurea the dominant chemistry for secondary containment:
Sprayed wet-on-wet in overlapping passes — no seams to fail. The continuous membrane adheres directly to the substrate and conforms to every corner, penetration, and transition in the containment geometry.
Walk-on within one hour. Light service within 24 hours. For facilities where downtime has a per-hour cost, that cure profile fundamentally changes the economics of recoating work.
High tensile strength, elongation, and chemical resistance — a combination few coating chemistries match. Absorbs mechanical impact, thermal expansion, and chemical exposure over decades without cracking.
Performance targets for any individual project should be pulled from the ArmorThane Technical Data Sheet matching the selected system. Call (417) 831-5090 for TDS and SDS documentation.
Most procurement teams evaluating secondary containment compare polyurea against four alternatives: epoxy coatings, HDPE sheet liners, concrete alone, and traditional paint. Here is where each chemistry stands.
Polyurea outperforms competing chemistries on seamless application, cure speed, flexibility, and 20+ year service life on aggressive industrial applications.
You need a seamless, flexible, chemical-resistant membrane installed fast on irregular geometry. No seams to weld, no 24-hour cure wait, no cracking under thermal cycling.
The application is interior, climate-controlled containment with minimal thermal cycling and budget is the primary driver. Expect 10–15 year service life before recoat.
The footprint is very large and flat, a specialist crew can weld reliable seams, and there are no complex transitions, penetrations, or irregular geometry to detail.
Bare concrete is not a liner — it is a substrate. Paint is not a containment coating. Any specification that calls for “containment paint” should be immediately corrected. Neither meets the 40 CFR 264.175 “sufficiently impervious” standard.
ArmorThane has been formulating pure polyurea and hybrid systems in Springfield, Missouri since 1989. We manufacture the coating, manufacture the proportioning equipment, and train the applicator network — not a franchise, all under one roof.
Two-component, 100% solids pure polyurea elastomer. The workhorse system for chemical containment, tank linings, secondary containment pads, and bermed areas where mechanical toughness and chemical resistance matter most.
For frac tank pads, oilfield containment, mine leach ponds, and agricultural runoff basins. Geotextile adds tensile reinforcement; polyurea provides the impervious, chemically resistant surface. Installs faster than welded HDPE on irregular terrain.
Purpose-engineered for containment structures with blast-mitigation requirements — ammunition storage, military fuel depots, high-consequence civilian infrastructure. Designed to absorb and dissipate blast energy while maintaining containment integrity.
The complete system — matched primers for concrete, steel, and geotextile substrates; aliphatic topcoats for UV-exposed outdoor installations; and plural-component proportioners designed and manufactured by ArmorThane in Springfield.
ArmorThane USA Inc. has been manufacturing polyurea, polyurethane, and spray foam systems in Springfield, Missouri since 1989. Coatings, equipment, training, and 24/7 technical support developed under one roof. Our global applicator network operates in more than 30 countries.
Secondary containment is a requirement across every industry handling oil, fuel, or chemicals. The design details shift by sector, but the coating strategy is consistent: a seamless, impervious membrane that holds what the primary container drops.
Well pads, tank batteries, refining, frac water pits, and transloading. Chemical resistance for crude, condensate, produced water, and frac chemistries.
Heap leach pads, solution ponds, concentrator sumps, reagent storage. Handles acidic/caustic chemistries and heavy mechanical abuse.
Chemical feed areas, clarifier walls, and containment around sodium hypochlorite, ferric chloride, and polymer storage.
Fertilizer, pesticide, and herbicide storage. Dry fertilizer needs abrasion resistance; liquid crop protection needs chemical resistance.
Process areas, solvent storage, hazardous waste areas. Non-porous surface meets hygiene requirements; chemical resistance meets spill requirements.
Wash-down areas, chemical sanitizer storage. Polyurea survives hot water, caustics, and daily cleaning where epoxy fails in 2–3 years.
Fuel farms, munitions storage, vehicle maintenance under DoD UFC standards. Blast-rated and ballistic-rated configurations available.
Hydraulic fluid storage, quench tanks, paint kitchens, solvent storage. Fast return to service minimizes costly plant downtime.
A polyurea containment coating only performs to spec if substrate preparation and application are correct. This is what a compliant installation looks like on a typical concrete containment pad.
Review the SPCC plan or RCRA plan, capacity calculation, substrate condition, and operating environment. Existing cracks, joints, penetrations, and drainage all drive the detailing approach.
Concrete prepared to SSPC-SP 13 / NACE 6 or ICRI CSP 3 to 5 profile. Steel abrasive blast-cleaned to SSPC-SP 10 near-white metal for immersion service. All oil, laitance, curing compounds, and incompatible coatings removed.
Cracks routed and filled. Expansion joints detailed with backer rod and compatible sealant. Pipe penetrations, drains, and anchor bolts dressed with gasket or fillet bead so the coating ties in without a weak point.
A primer matched to the substrate is rolled or sprayed at the rate specified on the TDS. Primer selection is not optional and is not interchangeable between substrates — concrete, steel, and geotextile primers are different products.
On large lined areas, geotextile fabric is anchored and tensioned across the containment. On detail areas — inside corners, penetrations, crack repairs — fleece or scrim is embedded in the first polyurea pass for added reinforcement.
The plural-component proportioner heats and pressurizes A-side and B-side materials, meters them at the correct ratio, and delivers them to an impingement-mixing spray gun. Overlapping passes build the specified film thickness — typically 60 to 125 mils for a single-pass pure polyurea liner.
Wet-film thickness checked during application. Dry-film thickness verified after cure using a magnetic or ultrasonic gauge on steel, or a coring sample on concrete.
Low-voltage wet-sponge or high-voltage spark tester passed over the cured coating to find pinholes, holidays, or thin spots. Flaws are marked, abraded, and recoated.
For outdoor exposure, an aliphatic polyurea or polyurethane topcoat is applied over the aromatic base coat to preserve color and reduce surface chalking over years of UV exposure.
Applicator documents surface preparation, ambient conditions, batch numbers, film thickness, holiday test results, and any repairs. The documentation package becomes part of the facility’s SPCC or RCRA compliance file.
Secondary containment is only as effective as its inspection program. Regulators expect documentation. Insurers expect documentation. And in the event of an actual spill, the paper trail demonstrates the facility met its duty of care.
Capacity sizing is where many projects get tripped up. Two rules apply depending on which regulation governs the site:
For oil and petroleum product storage subject to SPCC:
Precipitation freeboard: typically the 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event volume over the exposed containment footprint. Check your state SPCC guidance for stricter local requirements.
For hazardous waste container storage, use the greater of:
Plus a means to remove accumulated liquid in a timely manner. Add precipitation freeboard for outdoor installations.
ArmorThane technical support works with facility engineers on containment sizing as part of the specification process. Call before the concrete is poured: (417) 831-5090.
Primary containment is the vessel that holds the product in daily service — a tank, drum, tote, or pipe. Secondary containment is the backup barrier around that vessel that catches a leak or spill if the primary fails. Primary containment does the work; secondary containment prevents an environmental release when primary fails.
The SPCC rule (40 CFR Part 112) applies to non-transportation-related onshore facilities with more than 1,320 gallons of aboveground oil storage in containers of 55+ gallons, or more than 42,000 gallons of buried oil storage, that could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into U.S. waterways.
Film thickness depends on substrate, stored chemistry, and mechanical exposure. For pure polyurea on concrete, 60 to 125 mils in a single pass is common. Highly aggressive chemical service or heavy mechanical abuse may require 125 to 250 mils or more. Always refer to the current Technical Data Sheet for the specified product.
Yes. The EPA performance standard requires containment to be sufficiently impervious to contain leaks, spills, and accumulated precipitation until the material is detected and removed (40 CFR 264.175). A correctly specified and installed polyurea liner meets that standard — it is seamless, non-porous, and chemically resistant.
Properly specified, installed, inspected, and maintained polyurea systems deliver decades of service. Actual life depends on chemistry stored, operating temperature, UV exposure, mechanical abuse, and installation quality. A lined containment area inspected monthly and repaired when damage is found will outlive most other assets on the site.
Yes, and it is the most common application. Existing concrete must be clean, structurally sound, and mechanically prepared to the surface profile specified for the coating system. Cracks, joints, and penetrations are detailed. A matched primer is applied, and the polyurea is sprayed to specified film thickness.
The 1,320-gallon threshold is the SPCC trigger for aboveground oil storage. If a facility has aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity exceeding 1,320 gallons in containers of 55 gallons or more, it is covered by 40 CFR Part 112 and must develop and implement an SPCC Plan, which includes secondary containment requirements.
Yes. 40 CFR 112.8(c)(2) requires sufficient freeboard to contain precipitation on outdoor bulk storage containment. The common engineering convention is to size the containment for the largest container plus a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event over the containment footprint.
Polyurea can be sprayed in temperatures down to freezing and below, provided the substrate is dry, dew point is controlled, and coating material is at the correct application temperature. Cold-weather installation requires experienced crews, heated spray equipment, and weather protection for the work area.
Yes. Pure polyurea systems developed for containment service resist diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and most crude and refined petroleum products. For concentrated aromatic solvents, ketones, or strong acids, verify compatibility against the Technical Data Sheet and chemical resistance chart for the specific ArmorThane product before specifying.
40 CFR 264.175 is the RCRA regulation governing containment for hazardous waste container storage areas at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. It requires a containment system with a base free of cracks and gaps, sufficiently impervious to contain leaks and spills. Capacity must equal the greater of 10% of the volume of all containers or the volume of the largest container.
HDPE sheet liners are welded geomembranes for large, flat containment areas. They work when a specialist crew can weld reliable seams on simple geometry. Polyurea is seamless, conforms to complex geometry, and installs faster on irregular terrain. For industrial containment pads with tanks, piping, drains, and transition details, polyurea outperforms HDPE on installation speed and long-term integrity.
We’re the manufacturer — coatings, equipment, and technical support under one roof since 1989. Not a franchise. Global applicator network. 24/7 technical support.
ArmorThane USA Inc. has been manufacturing polyurea and polyurethane protective coatings, spray foam systems, and plural-component application equipment in Springfield, Missouri since 1989. We operate as a direct manufacturer — not a franchise network. Our coatings and equipment are installed by a global network of trained applicators across North America and more than 30 countries. Technical support is available 24/7 at (417) 831-5090. This guide was reviewed and updated by the ArmorThane Engineering Division in April 2026 to reflect current EPA regulations, best practices, and ArmorThane product specifications.
