Do the chemicals at your site have flammable and corrosive properties? When you’re working with dangerous goods, there are many risks that need to be controlled to maintain a safe working environment. However, chemicals that are both flammable and corrosive pose a wide range of risks that require careful procedures and work practices to keep a safe, compliant workplace. In this post, we’ll be looking at ways that you can reduce risk with your flammable and corrosive substances.
But before we get into our chemical safety tips, let’s first look at flammable chemicals and corrosive substances to find out what risks these dangerous goods classes each pose in the workplace.
Recognised as Class 3 dangerous goods, flammable liquids are commonly used substances that are utilised by a wide range of industries. Workplaces that handle and store flammable liquids include manufacturing businesses, oil and gas operations, mining sites, hospitality businesses, educational institutes and medical organisations.
Flammable liquids pose a range of serious risks — with the risk of ignition being one of the key concerns for companies that carry these chemicals.
Class 3 substances give off high volumes of flammable vapours at temperatures under 60 °C (closed-cup test) or 65.6 °C (open-cup test).
Flammable liquids can give off sufficient flammable vapours at low temperatures to spark a fire or explosion, if vapours meet an ignition source.
These flammable vapours, if they happen to meet an ignition source within your workplace, can quickly ignite. This can result in a fierce fire, flashback or flammable liquid explosion. Flammable liquids are dangerous because they have the ability to ignite at low temperatures (under 60 °C) —which is the temperature range found in many Australian workplaces.
There are several chemical controls which must be implemented and maintained when dealing with flammable liquids in the workplace.
These include:
Corrosive substances are also commonly found across many Australian workplaces. However, one unique feature of corrosive substances is their ability to corrode living tissue, metal and other materials.
Handling and storage of corrosive substances must reduce the risk of human harm, property destruction and environmental damage.
This makes the storage and handling of corrosive substances a particularly complex process. While storage facilities can be lined with corrosion-resistant liners and spill trays, the direct handling (ie. without PPE) of corrosive substances is prohibited due to the extreme risk of human harm. Health issues that can occur when staff are exposed to corrosive liquids or fumes include chemical burns, eye damage and respiratory issues.
When considering chemical controls for your stores of Class 8 Corrosive Substances, make sure that you minimise the risk of:
REMEMBER: If corrosive vapours or liquids spill into the natural environment, it can quickly contaminate soil, waterways and any animal life that it sustains. Vapours, as well as the actual chemical substance, can cause acute health issues for both humans and animals, so the strict control of corrosive substance spills is essential for chemical safety.
Some chemicals are recognised as a dangerous goods class — with a sub-risk of another class.
This means, that your chemical handling and storage practices should not only be compliant with the requirements for the primary dangerous goods class, but they should also adhere to the requirements for the secondary chemical class that is identified as the substance’s sub-risk.
Refer to the SDS of your particular chemical product to determine the primary and sub-risk of the chemical that you’re carrying.
Essentially, chemicals that are flammable and corrosive pose a vast range of risks, including fire, explosion and corrosion — as well as the release of harmful vapours, in certain circumstances.
However, this doesn’t mean that it’s difficult to control these risks – it simply means that you should be catering for both classes of dangerous goods in your handling and storage practices.
IMPORTANT: The storage of the main chemical class needs to take preference when determining your dangerous goods storage needs. You can then follow this by implementing measures to control the risks of the secondary chemical class.
Some chemicals which have both flammable and corrosive properties may include:
Due to the vast range of risks posed by flammable and corrosive substances, there are a myriad of chemical controls required for the safe handling and storage of these dangerous goods.
Flammable and corrosive chemicals must be handled and stored to reduce a wide range of risks.
Considerations should include:
REMEMBER: As chemicals may have a primary and sub-risk class, always refer to the Safety Data Sheet of each individual substance to determine the specific handling and storage requirements for that product.
While there are many factors to consider when bringing a flammable and corrosive chemical into your workplace, there are also many ways that you can actively reduce chemical risk in your operations.
From PPE to ventilation and the appropriate bunded storage, you can minimise the risk of fire, explosion and corrosion when implementing control systems within your workplace.
To find out more about controlling the risks associated with hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods, you can download our helpful eBook. Our guide details our 4-step risk control methodology, which will help you identify, assess, control and review risks in your own organisation. Grab your own copy for free today by clicking on the image below.