The Hazardous Materials Regulations Guide encourages compliant chemical storage while protecting employee safety and finely tuned facility operations. Following well-crafted, sensible storage practices allows easy retrieval and storage of dangerous chemicals without contamination and product degradation. Although the media depicts crazed explosions as anomalous and spontaneous rarities, the fiery, puffy smoke billowing from disaster sites follows weeks of deteriorating storage conditions, culminating in a catastrophic blast. Hazmat incidents never occur without a catalyst, whether an errant spark from incompatible materials or hostile, humid container conditions. Our fire-rated hazmat lockers segregate unstable but necessary flammable liquids with centralized protection away from heavy production traffic. Most facilities will never pass the recrudescence of repeated chemical events. While management majority rule secures compliant, onsite chemical storage, continuous negligent storage practices by those choosing economics over site safety jeopardize workforces and nearby communities.
A jarring chemical explosion at an Iranian port is salient as a perilous and cautionary tale warning against negligent hazardous materials storage. The monstrous blast killed 40 people and injured more than a thousand. The ignominious shockwaves reverberated throughout the port city, shattering windows and sending residents, constantly on guard for Western aerial reprisals for the supreme command’s nuclear ambitions, looking for cover. Although the nation’s military brass deny the incident originated from the defense sector, tell-tale orange-brown smoke rising from the flames possibly indicates sodium perchlorate stockpiles as the sole chemical culprit. Sodium perchlorate, which is used in many pharmaceuticals and missile propellants, is highly flammable, requiring stringent storage practices uncommon in developing or economically and sanctions hindered nations such as Iran.
What are the Hazardous Materials Regulations?
Every public and private enterprise operating under the auspicious regulated industry is subject to federal, state, and local chemical storage regulations. With the assistance of NFPA 30 oversight and suggestions, OSHA enforces regulations to “protect against the risks to life, property, and the environment that are inherent in the (storage) of hazardous materials.” While state and national safety officials sing the same compliant chemical storage song, alterations and renditions persist. No two county or state-sanctioning bodies are the same. Each public safety agency and building inspector’s office has stringent chemical storage regulations unique to city infrastructure and environmental concerns. While nuance is a given while storing dangerous chemicals, universal truths guide all compliant hazmat regulations. OSHA says companies can store more than 25 gallons of flammable materials outside a predetermined chemical storage area or warehouse. Moreover, inventory managers should never store incompatible materials together. Employees should also strive to store chemicals below eye level and ensure walkways and egresses between palletized containers or drums are debris-free.
What are the Most Common Hazardous Material?
A hazardous material is any chemical solid, gas, or solution that harms health and the environment. Although acids, disinfectants, gasoline, oil, glues, solvents, disinfectants, and pesticides are more common hazardous materials, the potential list is inexhaustive or limitless, considering the infinite chemical formulas possible with trade secrets and heterogeneous mixtures. No two onsite chemical stockpiles and storage solutions are the same. Flammable, oxidizing, and inorganic chemical classifications require unique, compliant storage accommodations. While the resulting finished product at any facility relies on numerous incompatible chemicals in producing commodities and cleaning functioning machinery, the defining physical and chemical properties necessitates carefully segregated and monitored storage containers. Our knowledgeable building advisors remove the guesswork in determining compliant, onsite storage. We carefully evaluate your facility operations before recommending the correct storage solution for your workforce.
