Are you storing chemicals safely?
September 1st 2009 Any chemicals you keep on your premises, including cleaning products, glue, paint or bleach, must be stored and handled carefully. New guidance from netregs (www.netregs.gov.uk), explains how to keep and handle chemicals safely to prevent harmful spills.Georgina Bisby picks out some of the key points
As well as being harmful to human health many chemicals stored and used in the workplace could cause pollution if they spill onto land, enter surface waters or groundwater or are released into the air which could result in a prosecution and fine. Some typical chemicals stored in the workplace include:
• Cleaning products
• Solvents, eg methanol, benzene, toluene
• Acids and alkalis (bases)
• Resins, glues and sealants
• Plasticisers
• Paints and varnishes
• Bleaches and dyes.
Storing chemicals and REACH
The REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation affects businesses that manufacture, import, distribute, sell, store or use chemical substances, preparations or articles.
If you just use chemicals, it is unlikely that you will have to do anything about REACH and if you use common chemical products for their intended purposes - for example, paints and cleaning materials REACH will probably not affect you.
If you use a chemical in a way that may not be expected, you should contact your supplier. They will need to consider registering the chemical’s use. If you do not want your supplier to know what you are using a chemical for (for example if you are using it in an innovative way) you must let the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) know about the use.
It is advisable to produce an inventory of all the chemicals you use and store on your site, and the quantities that you have see www.hse.gov.uk/reach/ resources/inventorydownstream.pdf for advice on how to do this.
REACH makes sure that chemical users receive information about how to store, use and dispose of chemicals.
You may receive a safety data sheet (SDS) with some of the chemicals you use. which containes information about the chemical, including how to store, use and dispose of it safely. If you receive a chemical without an SDS, contact your supplier to find out whether or not they have to provide one.
You should follow the instructions on the SDS to ensure you use your chemicals safely. Locating chemical storage areas When planning chemical storage areas, carefully consider your site.
Locate storage areas to minimise the risks of damage to the environment, and the health and safety of employees and the public. Ensure that your storage area is located so if chemicals leak or spill, you will not pollute air, land, surface waters or ground waters.
Check whether you are in a source protection zone (SPZ), these have been set up in England and Wales to protect groundwater used for drinking water supplies.If you store chemicals within an SPZ, follow the pollution prevention guidelines strictly.
Finding out if you are in an SPZ is easy, just enter your postcode in the ‘What’s in my backyard?’ facility on the Environment Agency website, www.environment-agency.gov.uk If you are in Northern Ireland and Scotland contact your environmental regulator.
Make sure your storage area is:
• secure - avoid sites close to a boundary fence
• away from heavy plant or where vehicles move around, to minimise the risk of collision or damage to storage systems and pipework from vibrations
• not likely to flood, or if this is not possible locate your storage area above the height that any flood water is likely to reach clearly signed, with a clear boundary.
Chemical handling and deliveries
Delivery and handling of chemicals can cause pollution. For example, forklifts can damage chemical containers and chemical bottles may break and leak.
The chemical’s SDS may recommend the best methods and materials to use for cleaning up a spill. If you receive a chemical without an SDS, contact your supplier to find out whether or not they have to provide one.
If you store hazardous chemicals you must comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations to protect the health of your staff. Check the SDS to see if the substances you use are hazardous.
Good practice
• Chemical deliveries
• Supervise deliveries of chemicals and fuels at all times.
• Label all tanks and containers clearly with their contents and storage capacity.
• Check levels before deliveries to prevent overfilling and spills.
• Locate delivery areas to minimise the vehicle movements on your site. If possible, have a one-way system to avoid congestion
• Mark out delivery areas clearly. If possible, put a roof over the delivery area.
• Have an up to date drainage plan of your site
• Drains from delivery areas should connect to the foul sewer. If this isn’t possible, isolate run-off from the surface water drainage system, either by catch-pits or sumps with isolating valves. Your delivery area should have an impermeable surface.
• If you are filling tanks, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) or mobile bowsers, check that delivery pipes have automatic cut-off valves to prevent overfilling.
• Keep a spill kit close to delivery areas, and make sure that your staff know
how to use it.
Bulk chemical storage - tanks and drums
If you store chemicals in tanks, mobile bowsers, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) or drums, you must take precautions to avoid causing pollution.
Ensure that your storage containers and storage areas are designed with environmental protection in mind. Check your storage containers and pipework regularly to make sure they are in good condition and there are no leaks. Use a secondary containment system, such as an impermeable bund, to prevent chemicals escaping to the environment if there is a spill.
What you must do
You must store any hazardous chemical in a suitable container that is:
• securely sealed to prevent the contents escaping
• resistant to the effects of the substance
• strong enough to be handled
You can check the chemical’s safety data sheet (SDS) to see if it is hazardous.
Segregate all incompatible chemicals. If you store incompatible chemicals together and there is a leak or spill, it could cause a violent reaction. A chemical’s SDS will tell you which chemicals it is incompatible with.
For more information on COSHH, see wwww.hse.gov.uk
Avoiding major accidents
The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations may affect you if you:
• store large quantities of chemicals
• store fuels, including gas
• have a large warehouse or distribution facility
• store explosives.
Avoiding and dealing with chemical spills
You should manage your site carefully to reduce the risk of chemical spills. If you have a chemical spill on your site, it is important that your staff know how to deal with it. If you cause pollution you could be fined and prosecuted.
What you must do
If you have safety showers on your site, ensure that you dispose of the water from the showers safely, as it may be contaminated. You can dispose of this water to the foul sewer, but you will need permission from your water company or water authority first.
Good practice
Report pollution incidents as soon as they happen to the environmental regulators’ UK-wide incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Planning for pollution incidents Have a pollution incident response procedure in place for dealing with spills.
Make sure that your staff are familiar with the procedure and know how to implement it. If you store lots of chemicals or have a chemical warehouse, you may need to install a spill alarm so that you can evacuate the building when there is a spill.
Storing dangerous substances If you store large quantities of dangerous substances, then you may need a major accident prevention policy under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations. See our COMAH guidance for more information.
Spills and spill kits
Ensure that you have absorbent materials such as sand and other containment equipment suitable for the type and quantity of chemicals you store and use on your site. Keep them close to where you might need them, particularly in delivery areas. Make sure that your staff know where they are and how to use them. You can buy spill kits containing all the appropriate spill equipment for the chemicals you store.
Try to prevent liquid spills from entering drains or watercourses. For example, use earth to block the flow of large spills, or use sand or a commercial spill kit to soak them up.
You should never hose down a spill, as you could cause a much worse pollution incident.
If you store chemicals in a vehicle, you should also carry a spill kit suitable for the quantity and type of chemicals you have.
Bunds and drip trays
Store all chemicals in an area where you can contain spills. This should be within a secondary containment system (SCS) such as:
• an impermeable bunded area
• on a bunded pallet or spill pallet
• in a sump pallet
• a bunded storage unit
• a bunded drum store
• a storage cabinet with an integral sump
• in a drip tray.
Your bund and any bunded pallets should be able to contain at least 110% of the volume of the largest tank or 25% of the total volume likely to be stored, whichever is greater.
You should also use drip trays to catch any spills from fill pipes or draw off pipes.
Check drip trays regularly to make sure they are clean and empty, and have the capacity to contain spills.
The full guidance provides more detailed examples of Best Practice and links to extra resources and can be found at: www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/110529.aspx
Additional topics covered include:
• Small-scale chemical storage - cabinets, shelves and vehicles
• Temperature-controlled chemical stores
• Chemical labelling and information
• Waste chemicals and chemical containers
• Further information on chemical storage
• Chemical storage legislation
NetRegs is a government initiative providing free environmental guidance for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. More articles from HSM News Desk: | 
