In order to ensure total safety at all chemical products facilities or warehouses, in 2017 the Chemical Products Storage Regulations and Complementary Technical Instructions were approved.
In this article, as chemical suppliers, we will try to explain some of the key points to always keep in mind in a chemical products warehouse. Either directly or indirectly, many work environments use this type of products. Let’s see what conditions they require, from DC Fine Chemicals.
Increased safety, reduced risk
We already know that our sector is characterised by being a complex discipline that requires the application of techniques based on rigour and severity. However, depending on the type of storage to which reference is made, the installation must comply with certain technical conditions, with the main purpose of avoiding accidents and material and personal damage.
Something common in all types of chemical product storage facilities are periodic checks and inspections to make sure that the items being stored are in the right condition. If this is not the case, any imperfections and deficiencies must be repaired to reduce the likelihood of a mishap as much as possible.
To ensure maximum safety in the storage of such items, and as a simple summary, the hazard involved in the provision of chemical products must first be determined. Next, the technical conditions of the facilities where the chemical products are stored must be guaranteed and certified. Thirdly, the substances must be grouped according to their compatibility. And finally, an emergency plan must be established for the facilities. Let us look at some of these aspects in a little more detail below:
Hazardousness
The concept of hazard is a broad one. It is mainly determined by the amount and level of risk presented by each chemical product. The degree of hazard must therefore be identified. For this purpose, a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is required for each element.
The information contained in the SDS is very useful, as it provides conclusive data, such as classification, packaging and labelling. With this, it will be possible to classify the elements, having recognised the hazards and the safety advice that they consist of.
Facilities
The Regulation on the Storage of Chemical Products and Supplementary Technical Instructions contains mostly general rules on safety conditions. Therefore, in 2017 the reform brought with it new standards. One of the most important of these is the issuing of a certificate by an authorised inspection body. In this certificate, the conformity of the installations must be accredited every 5 years from the start of commissioning.
The responsible party will be the owner of the installations, who will be covered for any civil liability that may arise from the storage. Furthermore, the revisions and inspections carried out do not exempt the owner from compliance with the regulations imposed: conservation, responsibilities, etc. In the event of an accident with significant damage, the owner must notify the competent body of the relevant Autonomous Community.
It should be noted that the conditions of trust, safety and security of a chemical products warehouse depend on the level of danger, taking into account what was explained in the previous section.
Handling
The loading and unloading process, or in short, the transport of stored chemical products, requires a very specific execution that represents another of the critical points with respect to storage safety. Hence, personnel must be adequately trained, in addition to having the relevant personal protective equipment and considering aspects such as hazards, work equipment and safety measures.
Thus, article 11 of Royal Decree 656/2017 sets out a Self-Protection Plan. Any facility that has a chemical products warehouse must have one. This requires that the personnel in charge are obliged to participate in the maintenance and updating programmes, following the guidelines of the Prevention of Occupational Risks.
In relation to this, the installation must have the appropriate equipment for intervention during possible emergencies, i.e. individual protection and first aid material. Furthermore, all this equipment must be accessible to the emergency services. Occasionally and when required by the installation, i.e. when the maximum distance between one point in the area and the nearest exit exceeds 30 metres, there must be two unobstructed accesses.
To find out more about the sector, we would like to invite you to visit our website. As chemical suppliers, at DC Fine Chemicals we give every product and chemical the special attention it deserves in our extensive catalogue. Get to know our services and discover a new way of dealing with chemistry, or as we call it, “A different kind of chemistry”.