Do you have any hazardous substances in your workplace? If your company is an example of the many in Australia dealing with dangerous chemicals, you have a legal responsibility to contain any harmful chemical leaks or spills. Continue reading to learn how compliant pallet bunds and secondary containment systems can help to reduce the dangers of hazardous chemical spills.
Bundling and Secondary Containment: What Are the Advantages?
Secondary containments are a hazard-reduction strategy for dealing with chemical leaks and spills in the workspace. Bundling and pallet bund storage are critical parts of your secondary containment system.
Spill bundling keeps chemical leaks and spills confined, preventing them from circulating throughout the workplace or into the enclosing areas. Take into consideration the fact that your business has combustible or flammable materials that aren’t appropriately contained. In this case, a chemical leak could occur in further workplace hazards like fire and combustion.
According to Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations, all Australian workspaces must contain and handle spills. Furthermore, the Wholesale Safety Storage Australia team offers a large selection of drum bunds, spill pallets, and drum management units to keep your employees and work areas safe.
Determine The Risk Factors
Before making selections about pallet bund and other items for your dangerous compounds, it’s vital to discover the level of risk posed by the substances.
To ensure that you choose the right pallet bund and secondary containment material for your job site, conduct a risk evaluation. The risk assessment will allow you to judge the substances visible properties and whether the devices can manage the handling volumes, weather conditions, and load time.
At Your Workplace, You Should Consider The Following Risk Factors:
- What health hazards might workers encounter if a chemical leak occurs? This includes irritation of the skin and eyes and the consequences of ingesting, inhaling, or swallowing spilt chemicals.
- What is the chemical’s threshold, and how likely is it to ignite or explode if a leak or spill goes unchecked?
- Is it plausible that the chemicals are detrimental to the environment? When it comes to harming pastoral areas or groundwater, what is the absolute bare minimum? Is the construction location close to the water, drainage, or residential areas?
- What are the substance’s chemical characteristics? Are they corrosive or reactive? Is it possible that the chemicals will corrode or harm the bunding materials?
- What chemical quantities do you have available, and what are their concentration levels? The risk of a large tank of unleaded gas versus a jerrycan of mower fuel is vastly different.
- How long will flammable liquids be maintained in temporary storage areas if there are any?
- Which chemical containers are utilised, and how vulnerable are they to damage, overflowing, cracking, or collapse?
Examine The Areas Where Chemicals Are Handled And Stored
The EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) suggests that pallet bund and secondary containment requirements be evaluated according to each site.
The following work areas should be considered in your risk appraisal, according to our Dangerous Goods Specialists:
- Cabinets for safety in the home
- Stores of flammable liquids in the open air
- Storage spaces for drums
- Stations for decanting chemicals
- Storage of pesticides
- Tanks for bulk fuel and other fuel storage places
- Oil-filled electrical transformers and other equipment
- Equipment for transporting liquids that have been kept (e.g., drum trolleys)
- Chemical spills are widespread in these areas.
What’s Your Plan for Secondary Containment?
Developing and maintaining a secondary containment system for your hazardous substances will aid your company in reducing the serious dangers that come with chemical spills.
Assume your company transports Class 3 Flammable Liquids like gasoline, lubricating oil, paint, or acetone. As a result of the possibility of flames and explosions, you face a higher risk of hazard. So it’s good to know that compliant, Australian-made flammable cabinets can help you address your chemical storage and containment problems.
If you need help choosing the right pallet bund unit for you, contact us right away, and one of our highly trained professionals will walk you through the process.
