Hazardous materials, whether in a raw state or the finished product, are capable of producing a wide range of physical damage – from fires and explosions to health problems and, in some cases, even death.
So when you’re choosing a hazardous storage solution provider, it’s essential you do your research to ensure you find a provider that has the right solution for your needs, is experienced in dealing with your hazardous goods, is fully trained and aware of the latest legislation to safeguard your compliance. To help you, we’ve put together some tips to help you start the selection process:
1. Identify and quantify hazardous materials stored on your site
Any chemical that has been supplied to your site would have been issued with a safety data sheet – it’s the law. Use these sheets to start classifying any hazardous materials stored and processed on your site. Classifications:
Alongside classification, you’ll also need to quantify the amount you’re storing on site – do this for each type of chemical. Then, record the number of different sizes and types of containers that hold your hazardous materials.
2. Identify the application and necessity of your hazardous materials
This is a necessary step to identify the exact purpose of storing hazardous materials on your site. You need to question whether it is really necessary for each material to be housed on your site. And where possible, you should investigate whether you can substitute a hazardous material for a non-hazardous one. Secondary risks can also become apparent when identifying each application. For example, in the case of dispensing a flammable chemical on site the risk of static charge build up will then need to be considered. Application categories include:
3. Protect your employees and prove your compliance
The safe handling and storage of hazardous materials is one of the most important tasks for the protection of the health of employees. The employer has many responsibilities and must be aware of the potential hazards different materials contain.
It’s critical that you request information on relevant government legislation and regulations for the safe storage of your hazardous materials on site. The HSE and other government organisations are there to help ensure that environmental health and safety risks are minimised as far as reasonably practicable in industrial organisations, so don’t be afraid to ask what you need to do to become compliant.
One of Chemstore’s team can talk you through the necessary steps and provide expert advice to ensure you are compliant.
Contact Chemstore
One of our engineers can issue you with a full site proposal with the relevant advice, products and services to enable your site compliance for the safe storage of hazardous materials.
The Chemstore team provides a full after sale service to inspect and maintain all products to ensure the highest standards are upheld.
Request your free site assessment and expert hazardous material storage solutions from an experienced Chemstore engineer today. Call 020 8704 1807 or email us.
0208 704 1807