Your guide to the safe storage of hazardous substances

26. July 2024 | Author: Lena Reuter | Reading time: 6 min

If hazardous substances are used in your company, they must usually also be stored. However, improper storage is often associated with significant risks to safety and health, especially when it comes to substances such as paints, varnishes, chemicals, acids, alkalis, solvents, or lubricants. Therefore, it is important to store hazardous substances in a way that protects both employees and the environment. Therefore, the safe storage of hazardous substances is a top priority.

Below, you will find out the basics about regulations, protective measures, and the digital organization of hazardous substance storage in your company. For further information on implementing a software solution for hazardous substance management in your company, read our free ebook!

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Basics of storing hazardous substances

If you work with hazardous substances in your company, you should exercise particular caution. This applies to all activities involving hazardous substances, including their use, transport and proper storage.

Basically, you have to differentiate between actual storage and provision. Provision means keeping hazardous substances for immediate use. Storing, however, means keeping them for later use or disposal.

Of course, you must always identify and evaluate all potential risks that arise from storing hazardous substances. This is done via the hazard assessment in your company, in which you identify possible sources of danger for your employees. Suitable protective measures must then be derived.

Protective measures for the safe storage of hazardous substances

In order to protect your employees from potentially dangerous situations, preventive measures are essential. We have compiled a selection of important guidelines for you below:

• To prevent the materials used from being handled incorrectly, you must regularly instruct your employees on the correct storage and use of hazardous substances. It is also useful to instruct employees on the correct use of necessary personal protective equipment.
• Storing hazardous substances directly in the workplace is only permitted in exceptional cases. Instead, they should be stored in separate rooms. This also prevents unauthorized people from gaining access to hazardous substances.
• With straightforward access regulations, you can ensure that only authorized employees can access hazardous substances. They should always be instructed and know all potential hazards and associated protective actions.
• You must only use containers from which hazardous substances cannot accidentally leak out. The containers must also be closed during storage.
• Hazardous substances should never be stored near food. Therefore, break rooms or standby rooms are generally not suitable storage rooms. Storage in stairwells, corridors, and transport routes is also not permitted.
• Hazardous substances must be clearly labelled, as well as storage areasand traffic routes. Also, it must be taken into account that the stored goods must not block doors. The same applies to emergency exits and escape routes.
• Operators of hazardous materials storage facilities are also obliged to check the storage areas regularly. Among other things, they must check whether substances have leaked out or whether the ventilation systems are working properly. Any defects found must be remedied immediately.

Joint storage of hazardous substances

Storing hazardous substances without an organization system is prohibited simply because it can lead to unintended and dangerous reactions between them. Certain hazardous substances must, therefore, not be stored together. This rule applies, for example, to flammable or combustible liquids in combination with oxidizing substances. In such cases, you can achieve safe storage by keeping substances with incompatible properties in separate rooms or ensuring sufficient safety distances in the storage areas.

The hazardous substances regulations clarify which substances you must store together or separately. In these, hazardous substances are assigned to so-called storage classes based on their hazard level. The class descriptions are based on the classifications according to the CLP regulation (Classification, Labelling and Packaging). Accordingly, you can store substances that belong to the same storage class together without problems. Different classes, however, must be kept separate.

Joint storage tables help you keep track of all hazardous substance combinations when storing them together. They show for each substance whether it is possible to store it together with other storage classes or whether joint storage is prohibited. Traffic light colours are generally used for labelling.

Organise the storage of your hazardous substances digitally

Storage is often challenging, especially if your company uses a large number of hazardous substances in its daily work. A software solution such as iManSys provides a solution and helps you digitally oversee your hazardous materials warehouse.

First, you can create an electronic hazardous substances register in which you note the material properties, storage location, and quantity. You then check the joint storage of selected materials directly in the system. iManSys tells you whether you can store the hazardous materials to be checked together, separately, or only to a limited extent.

Once the hazardous substances have been assigned to the relevant storage class, the joint storage of the classes can also be checked using the integrated joint storage table. It is also possible to check whether hazardous substances are being stored together in different locations.

With iManSys, you can organize not only the efficient and safe storage of hazardous materials but also the entire management of hazardous materials. Store safety data sheets on the dangerous properties of all hazardous materials. Also, consider the hazardous materials used in your hazard assessment, which can be created in the software. In addition, you can also fill out operating instructions for storing and retrieving as well as emptying and transferring directly electronically and then exporting them.

A software solution offers a holistic basis for the systematic development of your hazardous materials management system. You can find out how to do this step by step in our topic-related ebook. You can download it here free of charge:

The big book of digital HSQE management

Find out in detail how a comprehensive software solution can support you in the area of HSQE!

Download e-book