Posts Tagged ‘industrial’
Whether you are a manufacturing or industrial business more than likely that your workers handle highly-corrosive chemicals while carrying out their jobs. Of course suitable storage of any hazardous material is mandated by law, however some business owners have questions about what safety cabinets storage alternatives are to be considered.
Corrosive liquids are ones that sear, blister, or damage organic tissue. Chemicals with a pH value less than 4.0 (acidic) or greater than 10.0 (basic) are labeled corrosive. Corrosive liquids can also mix with other chemicals to cause fire, explosion, and toxic gases. Because of the damage to people and property that can be caused by corrosive liquids, they need to be stored properly. The OSHA recommended way to do that is in a cabinet specifically designed for this objective, such as those made by Justrite.
Justrite Blue Steel Safety Cabinets, which come in a variety of sizes and models, feature double-wall construction, dual vents, ground-wire connections, adjustable shelves, leak-proof sills, three-point self-latching doors, and leveling feet-all of which provide storage for corrosives safely. To withstand aggressive agents, Justrite cabinets also include polyethylene trays attached to galvanized steel shelves and a separate, easy-to-clean, polyethylene liner for the bottom sump. The all-epoxy, baked-on powder-coat finish, which is both inside and outside the cabinet, provides augmented chemical resistance.
When storing corrosive liquids in your Justrite cabinet, here are a few guiding principles to remember:
Be sure that unrelated items (like rags) are not left in your corrosives cabinet.
Store acids away from reactive metals such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
Store oxidizing acids away from organic acid and flammable and combustible chemicals-these can combine to cause a fire or explosion.
Do not store acetic acid with oxidizing acids. Acetic acid is an organic (carboxylic) acid that will react if it comes in contact with an oxidizing acid.
While nitric acid and hydrochloric acid can be stored in the same corrosive storage cabinet, they must have separate drip trays because, if they combine, they will form chlorine and nitrosyl chloride gases, both of which are dangerous.
Isolate acids from chemicals that could generate toxic or flammable gases upon contact, such as sodium cyanide, iron sulfide, and calcium carbide.
Store acids separate from bases-when some acids and bases combine, they can do so violently.
Also, keep bases separated from metals, explosives, organic peroxides, and flammable materials.
Safety team members should make sure that they maintain separate cabinets from different chemicals, particularly if it is not well-known whether an agent is able to be stored with another. While the expense may seem prohibitive, the savings in business liability insurance and potential injuries and damage is well worth the preventative measure.
In closing, the final step to appropriate corrosives storage is appropriate training of workforce, particularly new employees who are still learning the properties of chemicals they work with. Even though a business takes the proper safety measures by providing corrosives cabinets, errors can be made by unsuitably trained workforce, and regular training classes need to be in place to offer a strong level of deterrence.
Mike Richards is a safety expert specilaizing in risk management. If you thought this article was helpful, additional information on methods of storing unsafe materials and agents can be found at Industrial Safety Cabinets.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for checking out my site dedicated to health, weight loss and muscle building. I created this site to document my progress and to tell you what has worked best for me.