QUESTION
I work for a company that has bought and is storing significant amounts of hand sanitiser, is this safe? What are the rules about storage and quantities?
ANSWER
Storage of hand sanitiser
This article is by RoSPA and is reproduced courtesy of Safety Groups UK.
The HSE have a guidance document which is very useful — HSG51 on the storage of flammable liquids, it can be found here.
In it there are minimum separation distances:
|
Quantity stored (litres) |
Distance from occupied building, boundary, process unit, flammable liquid storage tank or ignition source (metres) |
|
Up to 1 000 |
2 |
|
1 000 – 100 000 |
4 |
|
Above 100 000 |
7.5 |
And storage quantities — the recommended maximum quantities that may be stored in cabinets and bins are:
-
no more than 50 litres for extremely, highly flammable and those flammable liquids with a flashpoint below the maximum ambient temperature of the workroom/working area;
-
no more than 250 litres for other flammable liquids with a higher flashpoint of up to 60°C.
Companies also often fail to let their insurance company know — so it is worth checking cover. And have COSHH and DSEAR assessments been undertaken?
This article by RoSPA is reproduced courtesy of Safety Groups UK.
Find out further information on RoSPA membership.
Dislaimer
This article is for informational/educational purposes only. Nothing in the material provided constitutes legal or professional advice. NI Safety Group (and RoSPA) do not accept any liability whatsoever for the contents, usage or onward transmission including any loss or damage howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on its contents. In providing this information NI Safety Group (and RoSPA) are not acting in an advisory capacity or as a health and safety consultants and it remains your responsibility to ensure that you are meeting your legal obligations.
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