When dealing with dangerous chemicals, appropriate storage is paramount. Most industries don’t purchase and use all the chemicals in one go. Abundant stocks close to the area of operation present several logistical advantages.

Nevertheless, it is the workers on the ground level that take up the majority of that task. It presents plenty of risk for them, their surroundings, and the entire organisation. One fell swoop, and you’re looking at massive logistical, environmental, financial, and healthcare losses, sometimes within a few minutes.

Throughout this piece, you’ll understand why chemical storage training is necessary for such employees, how they can apply for a chemical handling certificate, and why keeping records in such an industry is essential.

Which Industries Involve Storage and Transportation of Chemicals?

You require a chemical handling certificate if your business deals with any of the following:

• 
  Manufacturing and distribution of volatile chemicals
• Spraying pesticides over public areas such as parks, schools, and government buildings
• Distribution of fertilisers, insecticides, fungicides, and weedicides for personal or commercial agriculture
• Production and transport of fuels such as natural gas and LPG
• Waste disposal and transportation
• Water treatment facilities
• Research labs and institutions that work with volatile materials
• Manufacturing that involves edibles, fabrics, and plastics as critical ingredients
• Mining and ore processing

Hazards Due to Inappropriate Storage of Chemicals

If your business involves storing potent chemicals, there are some inherent risks with it that you should accept. Common hazards due to improper storage of chemicals include the following:

Damage to the Environment

One of the most significant threats from chemicals not ideally stored is to the environment around them. A storage tank filled with sodium fluoroacetate can be highly harmful to its surroundings if it spills over. It can degrade the fertility of the soil and erode many sensitive crops. Not to mention the threat to the fauna that roams around the farm.

Increased Health Risks for Humans

Numerous chemicals pose significant health risks when they come in direct contact with humans. Symptoms like skin irritation, eye damage, and chemical burns are commonplace for many reagents containing a toxic warning on the container. When ingested or breathed in, many stable chemicals can cause internal harm to vital organs.

High Probability of Fire

Most chemicals that require secure storage are flammable. While most people usually think of petrol or diesel, many such substances don’t need an open flame to catch fire. The hot Australian sun is enough for liquids like acetone and methanol to reach their respective flash points and catch fire.

Furthermore, some chemicals can produce a combustion reaction when mixed with others.

A typical example is potassium chlorate which, when combined with sugar, creates a purple flame that can reach temperatures exceeding 150 degrees Celsius.

Legal Repercussions

Safe Work is the statutory body that determines the safety regulations for chemicals in a workplace. Other agencies like the EPA and ACDC regularly collaborate to enforce any valid laws. These are strictly enforced throughout Australian jurisdictions, especially in a large coastal state like Queensland.

Failure to comply with the current chemical storage safety regulations can attract a fine of up to AUD 6,000 for an individual and AUD 30,000 for a business. However, that can increase to a maximum of AUD 600,000 and five years in prison if any incident involves severe injury or death.

What are the 5 Golden Rules for Storing Chemicals?

A simple way you can convey the safety procedures to the initiates is by simplifying the various safety protocols into five golden rules. These are universal for chemical storage safety and apply to all industries.

Golden Rule #1: Understand the Chemicals You’re Working With

You can make a 3000-page manual, yet no one would be interested in reading it if they don’t understand the risks involved with the storage of chemicals. Most novice personnel think there is no risk as the substances are sealed shut when they should be more careful.

Therefore, you should tell your staff about the chemicals involved in the process. It would be best to highlight the properties and the possible hazards so they know exactly what they are dealing with.

Golden Rule #2: Label All Sensitive Areas and Equipment Adequately

As per any competent chemical storage training course, documentation is the first line of defence. All storage equipment and the surrounding area should display the necessary hazard signs and warnings.

Furthermore, it would help not to use hard-to-understand chemical formulas but words that are more familiar to the general public. For example, instead of the label reading C6H6, it should read “Benzene.”

Golden Rule #3: Always Have Safety Measures at the Ready

You must go with the “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” plan with chemical storage. Your facility should have ample safety measures should things turn for the worse.

These include having extra PPE kits and hazmat suits, multiple emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and emergency alarm systems. If the chemical storage is in a small enough area, it should have hydraulic lock doors to limit the spill.

Golden Rule #4: Ensure Appropriate Training for All Personnel

It need not only be the floor workers that receive chemical storage training. You should ensure that other personnel, such as shift managers and security personnel, obtain the exact instructions.

It assists with having more people remain cautious of the hazards on-site and report immediately should they spot any irregularities.

Golden Rule #5: Record All Changes, No Matter How Small

Documentation should not remain limited to labels. Your staff should record every facility event, including stock usage, shift changes, and supply runs. The records should also detail the chemicals to educate trainees or visitors about possible hazards.

It helps the supervisors keep a check on any missing or misplaced chemicals. Moreover, the records help with a quick and definitive investigation should any disaster strike in the near future.

Chemical Storage Training for Employees

It is perhaps the best measure to take against hazardous chemical spills. Not only are your employees the closest to volatile reagents, but they are also usually the ones who least understand the risk. Therefore, getting a chemical handling certificate should be on your priority list.

Before understanding the perks of a chemical storage training program, let us first look over the common mistakes by the trainees that can lead to a significant disaster.

Common Mistakes Made by Trainees

If you let untrained hands into the work area with unstable chemicals, you invite substantial trouble. Some common mistakes untrained recruits make:

Inaccurate labels: Novice workers have little information regarding the chemicals they work with. Thus, it is highly likely that they would label many of the chemical storage containers inaccurately. It not only increases the hazards for the following user but also decreases the efficiency of locating safer chemicals such as ethyl alcohol and water.

Missing Inventory: The lack of record-keeping means that you can’t keep track of the chemicals and occasionally run out of stock. Also, there can be missing inventory for valuable chemicals that can substantially affect your bottom line.

Lack of Cleanliness: Busy schedules and lack of enforcement can lead to your employees neglecting cleanliness in the workplace. In many cases, this increases the fire or chemical spill hazard.

Unsecured Seals: Unless they have a chemical handling certificate, employees can’t firmly secure the complex mechanisms that many modern chemical storage equipment use. That can lead to leaks and evaporation of chemicals into the atmosphere, making the working area unsafe for anyone around.

Decreased Workplace Morale: All the above factors create a less motivated workforce to invest their true potential. Employees might often create a discourse regarding new safety protocols without genuinely understanding the risks. They might even discourage those with proper chemical storage training from reporting on any vulnerabilities.

Main Features of Chemical Storage Training

A chemical storage training course covers various measures. If you plan for a team within your organisation, you can expect the following features.

1. 
   Explain to them the properties of various chemicals and their storage requirements.
2. Educate them on the latest chemical storage and transport equipment. They’ll learn how to operate it and prevent instances of overloading or leakage safely.
3. Train them in emergency scenarios for various chemicals and create a multi-faceted action plan.
4. Demonstrate the use of emergency equipment and explain the same to your trainees.
5. Help them understand why labelling is important and teach them how to do it.
6. Allow them to set margins for recreational spaces such as smoking areas and lunch rooms.



How Countryco. Can Help Your Employees Get a Chemical Handling Certificate

In summary, conducting a chemical storage training course is a necessary burden you should take upon your shoulders. But that might not bode well with a busy schedule of running a business involving said chemicals. Therefore, you can do it more efficiently by outsourcing the course to a specialist.

With Countryco, we can guarantee all your employees a short yet thorough chemical safety training course. Our team has more than two decades of experience. We cover various small and large-scale industries and can even help create a custom industry training course that caters specifically to your firm.

Interested in making your workplace safer? Book your course with Countryco. Ag Services today!