If your organisation uses chemicals on site, you know that all chemicals are reactive to some degree and should be handled with care. Some chemicals, however, are highly reactive. The speed and intensity with which they react makes them dangerous and you will therefore need to control both their storage and handling to ensure the safety of your employees and surrounding environment. But what exactly is a reactive substance? And how can you reduce the associated risks through appropriate storage?
Highly Reactive Chemicals: Understanding the Risks
There are several ways that highly reactive chemicals can present a risk within your facility. They might be flammable, toxic, or corrosive; they could be self-reactive or react to sunlight; or they could be incompatible with other substances stored on site.
Highly reactive chemicals are generally those that require a low activation energy to begin a chemical reaction. Common categories include halogens, alkali metals, acids and oxidising agents, all of which can present hazards. That means careful storage is a priority for these, and indeed any, highly reactive chemicals.
To understand the properties and hazards associated with each substance used on site, you’ll need to look carefully at the safety data sheet (SDS) supplied by the product manufacturer or supplier. This will include details about the properties of the chemical including its reactivity, potential health and environmental hazards, and safety precautions for their handling, transportation and storage.
Minimising Risks Through Storage Best Practice
A risk assessment can help you put appropriate safety measures in place for the chemicals you use. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), this process can be broken down into 5 key steps:
- Identify the hazards
- Decide who might be harmed and how
- Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
- Record your findings and implement them
- Review your assessment and update if necessary
Depending on the information in the SDS, some basic best practice guidelines include using suitable containers with clear and accurate labelling. You may also need to consider specific storage solutions for flammable products as well as ensuring that any stores or cabinets are lockable such that their access can be restricted to appropriate personnel.
As an example, all flammable liquids must be stored in fire-resistant containers or bins. Internal flammables cabinets are available with up to 90 minutes fire protection. In the event of fire this allows enough time for personnel to exit safely and for fire fighters to begin tackling the fire.
Products such as acetone and benzene with a flash point below 0°C may require a temperature controlled environment to ensure safe storage, meanwhile acids may require a ventilated cabinet to ensure that corrosive fumes do not degrade the storage cabinet over time.
When working with reactive chemicals, there are always risks involved such as spills, fire or fumes. Highly reactive chemicals are dangerous in themselves, however, mixing reactive chemicals can increase the danger exponentially. For this reason, segregation is one of the most important risk-control measures at your disposal when thinking about storage.
Ensuring regulatory compliance
In addition to following the specifications of the safety data sheet, it is important that the configuration of your chemical storage adhere to relevant legislation. In the UK there are several regulations covering chemicals including:
COSHH – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
COPR – Control of Pesticides Regulations
DSEAR – Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations
Although the UK is no longer in the EU, you may also need to ensure compliance with the EU’s REACH legislation, which covers the registration, evaluation, authorisation & restriction of chemicals.
Some reactive chemicals will be covered by more than one of these regulations, so careful compliance is essential to minimise the dangers involved. For example, in some cases, you will need to think about the properties of the substance itself and the amount that is stored on-site, however, you may also need to think about the location of your storage containers and activities that take place nearby.
You may particularly want to consider:
- activities which present a high level of risk such as maintenance
- the likelihood of ignition sources, including electrostatic discharges
- the scale of the anticipated effects of a fire or an explosion
- any openings to places in which explosive atmospheres may occur
Tailored Storage: Effective Protection for Reactive Chemicals
If your work necessitates that you store one or more reactive chemicals on-site, you may find that you have very specific storage needs – either to accommodate the chemical with its unique properties, or to locate the chemical safely within the layout of your facility.
Customised storage can provide an answer, delivering a made-to-measure cabinet or walk-in store that complies with all safe storage chemical guidelines. As an expert in hazardous chemical storage, Safety Storage Systems can help you design the ideal solution for your inventory.
This might, for example, involve manufacturing a segregated storage solution with exact dimensions or access points. Where chemicals release gasses, an ATEX-approved ventilation system may be required to prevent the build-up of vapours. For flammable liquids, or those with strict temperature requirements, you may benefit from a temperature-controlled storage unit equipped with a thermostat and temperature-controlled zones.
To help you navigate and control the various risks associated with reactive chemicals, we can help review your inventory and create a best-fit solution. Discover more about our custom solutions for highly reactive chemicals including sensors and alarms by contacting our expert team today.