An APQ warehouse requirements

apq_warehouse-requirements

APQ warehouses are places in which accidents with severe consequences may occur, depending on the degree of dangerousness of the products stored. This is why it is necessary to follow several safety measures in order to avoid these risks. To establish these rules, we have to analyze the labels of the containers of the chemical products, since they have to specifically state the risks linked their use as well as the safety measures that could help us prevent accidents from happening. Moreover we should always store each type of chemical according to the risk it represents. We can learn what these risks are taking a look at the Additional Technical Instructions (ITC Instrucciones Técnicas Complementarias), making sure the safety conditions are optimal.

When it comes to storing chemical products in drums, we would to use shelves. The safer way to proceed would be to assign one type of product only to each shelf. However, the space between these shelves should be wide enough so that employees could walk between them, enabling them to carry out inspections safely and easily. When store drums on pallets, you have to make sure they are properly fastened using clamps and shrink wraps in order to ensure they are perfectly stable.

Other rules apply as far as storing gases in bottles is concerned. You should keep them in a well ventilated place, away from other chemicals products, isolating flammable products from the rest. The bottles should be chained in order to prevent them from falling.

It is important to store chemical products reacting to water in a dry and well ventilated place. It should be specified, thanks to a warning sign for instance, that water cannot be used in such places if a fire were to break out.

An APQ warehouse like Barnastock, should be equipped with appropriate extinguishing agents. In the same vein, flammable products should be kept away from other chemicals, in a well ventilated, free from ignition source, place.

Another advice would be to avoid storing incompatible products in the same shelf, especially vertically. Make sure to store horizontally products that wouldn’t react if they were to come into contact.

As you can see, there are a lot of elements one has to take into consideration when it comes to storing chemical products in an APQ warehouse. Thankfully, Barnastock offers a wide range of services, enabling our clients to store their chemical products safely, no matter what their specificities are.

Our facility covers an area of 28.000 m2 divided in:

  • A 1400 m2 warehouse designed to store flammable and corrosive products.
  • A 1400 m2 adapted to the storage of highly toxic, toxic and phytosanitary chemicals
  • A 6500 m2 warehouse divided into 3 areas with RF240 partition walls allowing the safe storage of flammable and combustive products.    We also possess several storages areas over a 1600 m3 zone specifically designed for the storage of flammable products.
  • 14,75 m3 storage areas built with A-410-B steel.
  • 4,40 m3 storage areas built with A-410-B steel
  • 2,40 m3 built with stainless steel
  • 4,75 m3 storages areas built with stainless steel

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