It is of vital importance that the storage arrangements must be right and appropriate for the type and quantity of hazardous agent.
The way you store a can of oil would be different to the way you store a ton of sulphuric acid.
Although storage arrangements for different chemicals and products will differ, there are some basic principles which we can apply to the safe storage of all hazardous agents.
Follow the principles below to ensure that your hazardous chemical agents are safely stored:
All hazardous facilities and processes should be subject to periodic risk assessments. The risk assessments will be undertaken with the specific purpose of ensuring all risks are as low as reasonable practicable (ALARP).
Risk assessments should also be performed for all new materials requested for use on site.
It is also important that all critical activities be identified and controlled through operating procedures, including storage of incompatible hazardous materials.
When proposing to locate a storage facility or warehouse various issues should be considered, namely:
The minimum number of warehouses and warehouse sections should be planned based on separation and segregation requirements.
It is vital that local authority approval be obtained and that the relevant local authority departments (fire, public health and building inspectorate) are consulted and necessary approvals obtained for any warehousing operations.
Construction of warehouse sections and fire sections must take into consideration:
The separation of flammable materials from other goods is preferable.
It is preferable that any administration buildings be separate from the buildings in which dangerous goods are stored. As far as reasonably practical no offices, mess rooms or change rooms should be built as an integral part of a stock warehouse.
If a site is surrounded by an open type of boundary (i.e. a fence) a flammable materials stock warehouse must be located a minimum of 22 m from the boundary. The distance can be reduced if the boundary is a solid structure such as a wall. The walls of buildings in which dangerous goods are stored must not form part of the boundary of the site.
Unauthorised access to the warehouse shall be prevented at all times. If a warehouse is part of a larger complex of buildings, or stands on its own grounds, the perimeter of the property shall be protected, where practicable, by means of a wall or fence of height at least 2,5m. This fence should have, preferably, at least two strands or a coil of razor wire or similar protection on top. An appropriate entry-pass system shall be enforced.
The warehouse building itself shall be burglar-proofed as necessary. All doors shall be locked outside operating hours. All windows shall be closed securely outside operating hours, unless they are required to remain open for ventilation, in which case they shall be burglar-proofed.
It is advised that hazardous agents be segregated according to the following South African national Standards (SANS) 10228 groups:
Storage of hazardous agents, even in small quantities, needs to be carefully controlled by the supervisor of the work area. Housekeeping principles require storage areas to be separated from other areas in the workplace.
A housekeeping plan should specify the rules for agents storage considering the types and quantities of agents. The correct storage of hazardous agents is largely dictated by the classification of the agents and the packaging group assigned.
Incompatible agents should not be kept in the same storage area unless separated by a distance of 3 meters.
Stock warehouses shall be separated into sections to satisfy the separation of product based on fire fighting needs and segregation of products of different classes.
Section separation shall be by separating elements to create fire sections. Fire resistant walls or separating elements shall be used for product separation within a fire section. Segregation of product within a fire section will be done by product separation walls or safety gaps of at least three meters.
The following compatibility chart that gives permissible combinations of dangerous goods that can be transported and stored together. Explosives (SANS 10228 class 1) and radioactive agents (SANS 10228 class 7) are subject to separate legislation and control.
Regulations in terms of the Explosives Act 26 of 1956, and Nuclear Energy Act 131 of 1993 must be applied.
Flammable liquids should not be stored with toxins, infectious substances, and aerosols to reduce the risk of toxic fire.
Oxidizing agents and organic peroxides (SANS 10228 class 5) must be separated from reducing agents, toxic agents, infectious agents, aerosol dispensers, flammables, and corrosives. Corrosive agents (SANS 10228 class 8) must be kept separate from toxic agents, flammables, aerosols, oxidising agents, and organic peroxides.