South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 12 December 2017, the employee of Wheelnut Ltd, entered an area of the company’s former premises in Swalwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, known as the “acid room”. The employee entered the room to retrieve alloy wheels from one of three barrels of a chemical substance containing Dichloromethane (DCM), Methanol and Hydrofluoric Acid used in the stripping process. He was subsequently found by a colleague slumped unconscious over a barrel.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found a risk assessment for the chemical wheel stripping process was not suitable or sufficient. Appropriate control measures should have included suitable exhaust ventilation in the room as well as respiratory protective equipment (RPE) for the employees. RPE was provided but it was not maintained in an efficient or effective state. Several parts of it were damaged and the air feed to it from the compressor was not filtered correctly. The investigation found that on this occasion, and previously, the employee was not wearing the RPE when he entered the room. Employees were not provided with suitable and sufficient information, instruction, and training with regards to the risks involved with using the chemicals, particularly the risks involved with using DCM.
Wheelnut Ltd of Whickham Bank, Swalwell, Newcastle upon pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £32,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £1718.50.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Joy Craighead said: “A young worker suffered a potentially serious injury. Breathing in DCM vapour can produce narcotic effects and, at high concentrations, unconsciousness and death. In this instance, the boy made a full recovery, but it could have easily resulted in his death.”
Commenting on the sentencing, Mike Brodie, Chemstore UK Managing Director said: “A storage arrangement with suitable extraction could have prevented this incident from happening. It is easy to underestimate the dangers of gases and vapours given off by chemicals because they can be odourless and vapourless but their effects can be devastating. Thankfully the apprentice in question made a full recovery but the incident is a reminder of the importance of storing hazardous substances correctly.”
If you are unsure of your obligations in this area, contact Chemstore today for a free site assessment.
You may also be interested in our free corrosives storage checklist.
Electrovault – Lithium Ion storage and charging solutionLithium Ion Battery Store – Introducing Electrovault
Over two billion Lithium ion cells are produced every year, but major safety concerns surround battery storage, quarantine procedures, transport/disposal of damaged batteries and thermal runaway. During a thermal runaway, the high heat created by the failing cell can develop to the next cell, causing it to also become thermally unstable. A battery pack can be destroyed within minutes or last for hours as each cell runs away. An irreversible thermal event in a lithium-ion battery can be initiated in several ways, by spontaneous internal or external short-circuit, overcharging, external heating or fire or even mechanical abuse.
During a thermal runaway hydrogen fluoride HF, phosphorus pentafluoride (PF5) and phosphoryl fluoride (POF3) are released, studies have shown that using water as a fire suppressant may also increase the formation of HF.
Our Electrovault storage units are made to comply with RC61 guidelines for Battery storage and can be tailored to suit your specification, whether that is:
Trust in our reputation for developing and delivering market-leading products and services for hazardous materials handling.
Improving the level of safety in your workplace is where our work begins. From there, we’ll help you reduce your risk, liability and downtime, and therefore increase productivity. Plus, we’ll take you beyond the legal standards for Health & Safety and Corporate Social Responsibility, with products and services that are also designed to exceed your performance expectations.
Here at Chemstore we listen to our clients requirements and design bespoke storage solutions to suit your needs.
Our Chemical warehouses are made to comply with HSG71 guidelines 
and can be tailored to suit your specification needs, whether that is:
Trust in our reputation for developing and delivering market-leading products and services for hazardous materials handling.
Improving the level of safety in your workplace is where our work begins. From there, we’ll help you reduce your risk, liability and downtime, and therefore increase productivity. Plus, we’ll take you beyond the legal standards for Health & Safety and Corporate Social Responsibility, with products and services that are also designed to exceed your performance expectations.
Here are just a few examples of what makes Chemstore stand out from the crowd:
Full design service
Find out how a tailor-made solution could work for you. Discuss your specific site requirements with us and we’ll engineer a bespoke proposal that slots right in with your needs.
Fast turnaround
Your deadlines are our priority. We manufacture to strict, in-house quality guidelines and can deliver to suit your deadlines. Plus, our experienced steel fabricators operate to the highest possible standards of excellence.
Quality you can count on
You’ll benefit from a 10 year structural guarantee on most products.
Walk In Fire Rated Stores Stores
The FireVault storage module provides the highest level of safety instantly for the secure storage of all flammable materials. All areas of industry currently employ flammables in their processes from petroleum products to industrial chemicals.
Manufactured to the highest standards utilising only those fireproofing materials, which have been tested to BS 476, part 22, FireVault Stores comply with all relevant Health & Safety Regulations, Insurance requirements and environmental standards such as IS310, ISO 14001, EMAS and IPC licensing.
Standard features include, full width spillage collection sumps, up to 5 hour fire rated composite wall panels, insulated self-closing doors, intumescent ventilation panels, fixed shelving, anti-static grounding connections, fully welded, leak tested bunds, galvanized grid mesh floors. A range of optional extras are also available for the Firevault units including ex-rated electrical fittings.
All Firevault units are delivered to site fully assembled and ready for immediate use. No special site works are required and at any future time, they can easily be relocated by forklift truck or crane, thereby offering excellent flexibility.
The most common Firevaults are the Walk In Stores used for small container storage (25L cans, Winchesters etc) and feature:
With over 24 years experience in the design manufacture and implementation of safety storage systems for hazardous materials, We know from speaking to our clients that the most prevalent risk has always been in the storage of flammables. What also must be considered is the protection of valuable equipment. The Firevault can employed as a Fire rated critical equipment enclosure. Whether it be the HSE, EPA or even company insurers carrying out assessments on your site it will always be the risk of fire that is given the highest priority. The Firevault enables you to obtain the highest level of safety and protection when storing flammable materials or protecting your most valuable assets on on site.
A very common problem our clients have is maintaining valuable liquids and and process chemicals within the correct temperature range for optimum safety and performance. Temperature Controlled Stores are the solution.
Valuable time is lost in waiting for chemicals to heated to performance temperatures and also product is fouled by exposure to incorrect temperatures.
Chemstore’s temperature controlled stores are stand-alone relocatable, insulated stores which are designed to provide secure, controlled storage for temperature sensitive materials. We offer a full range of sizes together with heating and cooling options. Depending on the hazardous material being stored by harnessing the SDS sheet Chemstore can provide the required storage temperature to alleviate any hazard presented by storing materials on site.
We also offer drum & IBC’s Enclosures designed to heat the contents of standard drums and IBC’s from freezing or ambient to your required processing temperature.
Gasvault – Gas Cylinder Stores
Chemstore’s range of Gas Cylinder Stores
The GasVault range of stores are specifically designed to provide a safe, ergonomic range of compliant storage solutions for gas cylinders.
The GasVault range addresses the following key safety issues:
G90 Gas Cylinder Cabinets
Large interior height –
Large, rigidly fixed rolling ramp made of corrugated sheet steel – High safety when manoeuvering cylinders into the cabinet, dampened folding down, lightweight, convenient installation of pressure gas bottles in the cabinet
Locking mechanism with cylinder lock – The cabinets can be integrated into existing master-key systems
Safe installation – No additional insulation of the pipes needed inside or outside
Ventilation – Complete uniform ventilation inside the cabinet (floor and ceiling). Pressure drop below 150 Pa by extraction of the air with a 120-times change of air. Successfully approved by testing.
Completely accessible internal space – Door opening angle max. 180°, the doors lock in place at 0° and are can be arrested at 90°
Cylinder retainer with ratchet straps – Across the whole width of the cabinet. Distance between the cylinders and the rear panel, give plenty of space for the flexible spiral piping. Safe and approved storing of gas cylinders in accordance with EN 14470-2
Observance of max. allowed increase in temperature on the valve of the gas cylinder of 50 K after 90 Minutes in accordance with EN 14470-2
Easy and convenient installations of gas fittings and pipes
Large interior height – Easy and convenient installations of gas fittings and pipes
Large, rigidly fixed rolling ramp made of corrugated sheet steel – High safety when manoeuvering cylinders into the cabinet, dampened folding down, lightweight, convenient installation of pressure gas bottles in the cabinet
Locking mechanism with cylinder lock – The cabinets can be integrated into existing master-key systems
Safe installation – No additional insulation of the pipes needed inside or outside
Ventilation – Complete uniform ventilation inside the cabinet (floor and ceiling). Pressure drop below 150 Pa by extraction of the air with a 120-times change of air. Successfully approved by testing.
Completely accessible internal space – Door opening angle max. 180°, the doors lock in place at 0° and are can be arrested at 90°
Cylinder retainer with ratchet straps – Across the whole width of the cabinet. Distance between the cylinders and the rear panel, give plenty of space for the flexible spiral piping. Safe and approved storing of gas cylinders in accordance with EN 14470-2
Observance of max. allowed increase in temperature on the valve of the gas cylinder of 50 K after 90 Minutes in accordance with EN 14470-2
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