OSHA Flammable Storage 101: Meet the Right Safety Requirements
OSHA Flammable Storage: Meeting All the Right Safety Requirements for OSHA and EPA Standards. Help Your Facility Pass the Test.
Making sure your facility and workplace are compliant and hazard-free according to OSHA storage of flammable and combustible liquids standards should be a number one priority for your own safety as well as the safety of others. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standards mean serious business these days. Not following them creates costly penalties and repercussions.
With OSHA fines having increased approximately 78% in August 2016, employers should be focusing on improving standards in the workplace not to just avoid these high fines, but to provide a safe, compliant working environment. In order to meet these standards and avoid serious fines, sometimes you need the Right equipment to comply with these codes and regulations.
Make sure you check these areas off your list in order to meet OSHA storage of flammable and combustible liquids standards:
Steel and Plastic Drums
Do your drums sit directly on the ground floor, on wooden transportation pallets, or sit open without a lid?
Accidents are bound to happen in these conditions and during the handling of drums so it is important to practice proper procedures.
- Drums sitting on the ground or on pallets should have spill protection since spills cause slips, trips and falls
- Use of spill decks helps with drum waste collection by capturing the spills and leaks then a spill bladder will deploy when the sump fills up, preventing a messy, dangerous overflow
- An adequate amount of absorbents should be kept near certain areas where major drum spills could occur
Safety Fuel Cans, Solvent Metal Cans, and Containers
Are your gas cans labeled correctly? Do you have open gas cans containing flammable liquids?
These are common mistakes with very simple fixes within your facility: safety gas cans like a Justrite ® safety can to ensure safe usage of flammable liquids
- BASCO's metal safety gas cans designed to offer both convenience and safety when facilitating the storage and transfer of flammable liquids
- Approved by DOT (U.S. Department of Transportation) and should be physically labeled as such “Safety Cans” under OSHA standards
IMPORTANT NOTE: Solvent cans and other containers should not be left open.
Original containers of flammable liquids are allowed by OSHA if the container is in a quantity of one gallon or less. Open containers are not approved and allow VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) into the air. Some VOC’s can be dangerous to human health as well as the environment which is why they are regulated by law.
Flammable Safety Cabinets
Are the safety cabinet doors in your facility capable of latching? Are there hazardous materials on open shelves or stacked on or around the cabinet?
Improper storage and handling of flammable liquids is one of the leading causes of industrial fires.
- Liquid containers must be kept in storage cabinets with the appropriate label on the outside of the cabinet - “FLAMMABLE – KEEP FIRE AWAY"
- Doors should be well fitted, self closing, and equipped with a latching device
- Any additional drilled holes, screws or padlock hasp added to the safety cabinet are not acceptable
- Making sure you have the adequate amount of storage space is vital; there should not be extra containers stacked on top or around cabinets and no more than three cabinets may be located in a single fire area.
Check out our selection of safety storage cabinets right here or contact your BASCO Representative and schedule a free facility survey today.
Safety Tools
Are you operating in areas where electrical devices are more readily accessible? Are you dealing with flammable materials?
We also have safety tools like:
- Grounding and bonding wires, which reduce the risk of electrocution
- Tough and flexible stainless steel cables that together create a continuous electrical path to drain static electricity directly to the ground
- Come equipped with different kinds of clips to make positive electrical contact to safely drain static electricity away from your containers and prevent sparks
- Hand tool safety options at BASCO like our non-sparking tools made of more fitting metals such as brass, bronze, copper-aluminum alloys, and more rather than steel
- Can provide more protection against fires and explosions in environments where sparks could potentially ignite flammable solvents, vapors, liquids, dusts, or residues