A few tips on the storage and handling of dangerous goods

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Anyone that works in the chemical sector knows that not all dangerous goods can be stored together. Indeed, noxious reactions could occur if incompatible products were to come into contact. Throughout the years, we unfortunately witnessed a lot of chemical incidents such as explosions, gases emissions related to a poor handling of chemicals. Even though we can never be sure that the measures taken will prevent all incidents from happening, they most definitely represent a way to minimize the risks.

There are a lot of online resources that can help you figuring out which chemicals can be stored together and which cannot. For instance, when it comes to the storage of flammable goods, you have to be aware of the fact that these products should never be kept in the same place as explosive products. Indeed, even though you have made sure the containers were hermetically closed, an earthquake, or an employee mishandling a product could lead to these two chemicals coming into contact resulting in an explosion.

You now understand why it could be really dangerous for your safety to keep incompatible chemicals in the same place. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid these dangers even if your facility has originally not been designed to store dangerous goods.

It would be safer to keep a minimum stock in your facility. Do not store more than you actually need. If you would like to order more chemicals we would advise you to store these chemicals in a dangerous goods warehouse such as ours. This way you will not store products for too long, which represent a risk given the fact that this could come to the formation of unstable peroxides. The container could also deteriorate with the passing of time, making spills more likely to happen.

It is important that you separate the incompatible substances from one another in order to prevent them from coming into contact. However, keep in mind that some products should even be isolated because of their dangerousness. Also, the use of flammable cabinets as well as acid and corrosive cabinets is compulsory in order to avoid the spills or the fire to spread to a wider area.

To sum up, the storage and the handling of dangerous goods should follow basic rules. You must own the proper material as well as an appropriate infrastructure, you should not store more chemicals than you need, and you should not keep these chemicals for too long inside your facility.

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