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Yellow Shield has released a simple guide to hazardous liquid stores to make it easier for businesses to follow the correct legislation and requirements.
Current guides can become a little overwhelming for businesses, making it more difficult for them to adhere to the correct legislation but with Yellow Shield’s clear and simple guide, the right information is easily accessible. The guide also explains where to go for the right information and advice for each specific industry.
The Guide:
What constitutes a hazardous substance?
A hazardous substance is any substance that presents a hazard to health and may be assessed against the following criteria:
• Any substance supplied in a container bearing one of the black on orange histograms.
• A substance which has been assigned a Maximum Exposure Limit (MEL) or an Occupational Exposure Standard (OES)
• A biological agent
• Any other substance which creates a hazard to health.
Legislation relating to the storage of hazardous and flammable liquids
The storage of hazardous and flammable liquids is covered by the following legislation:
• The Storage of Flammable Liquids (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 HSG51)
• Highly Flammable Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations 1972
• The Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001 and in Scotland the Water Environment (Oil Storage) (Scotland) Regulations 2006
• Water Resources Act 1989
• The Environment Agency Guidance Note – title PPG26
Guidelines relating to storage of flammable or hazardous liquids
The guidelines that relate to the storage of flammable or hazardous liquids include:
1. Safety Cabinet and Safety Store Construction Requirements
2. Quantity of Flammable Liquid Stored
• No more than 50 litres can be stored within a workplace or work area.
• A workplace or work area is defined by the Fire Officer or HSE. But for example, if a company has two spray booths, these could be defined as work areas, and 50 litres of flammable liquids could be stored in each
• More than 50 litres of flammable liquids should be stored within suitable external bulk storage units
3. Separation Distances from an occupied building, process unit, flammable liquid storage tank, fixed ignition source, boundary or fence should be a minimum of:
• Up to 1000 litres of flammable liquids – two metres
• Up to 10,000 litres of flammable liquids – four metres
• Above 100,000 litres of flammable liquids – 7.5 metres
Hazardous chemical stores must be sited:
• Away from areas that are at risk from fire
• At least four metres away from domestic dwellings, potential sources of ignition and combustible materials e.g. diesel or oil tanks
• Away from drains, watercourses, wells , boreholes or areas liable to flooding
• With access for emergency services to all sides of the building
4. Access for loading and unloading. These areas should be:
• Impermeable
• Provided with a chemical spill kit
5. Planning permission is not required for relocate-able buildings which are deemed as temporary structures. If a building is situated on a site longer than eight weeks then planning permission could be required.
