Things To Avoid With Dangerous Goods Cabinets

Maintaining safety at work is a continuous process that involves many steps. Among the many ways, you can keep the workplace safe is to ensure that all hazardous materials are rightly stored. Chemicals can be extremely dangerous when not handled and stored rightly.

The moment your dangerous goods cabinet has been delivered and put in its designated space, you must ensure that procedures and practices are established so that everyone within the company knows how to maintain safety. Although using a special storage cabinet may seem simple enough, many people get it wrong, which can result in serious accidents. 

Below are a few things that you should avoid when storing dangerous goods.

Storing Everything Together 

Specific types of dangerous goods cabinets are available for a particular class of substances. Ideally, a storage cabinet must have proper labels and signs visible. However, not every staff member may know the right way of storing the substances in the cabinet. Certain chemicals need to be kept apart for safety reasons. Even chemicals of the same class should not be kept together. Therefore, a list of materials that can be stored within a particular cabinet needs to be visible to avoid costly mistakes. 

Overloading Cabinets

When storing hazardous goods within a dangerous storage cabinet, a level of order must be maintained. Chemicals and other hazardous materials can cause damage when not handled properly. An overloaded cabinet limits air circulation. It also increases the chance of breakage, spills, and dangerous emissions of vapour. Items within the shelves need to be situated comfortably to ensure the cabinet doors can close fully. You will also be at risk of being considered “non-compliant”.

Not Checking the Spill Containment Sump

Chemicals can leak. It may be because the lid or cap of the container was not fully closed, the container developed a crack or puncture, there was an accident, or the container may have fallen to its side or off its shelf. It is vitally important that the spill containment sump of a dangerous goods cabinet be checked and inspected regularly. 

If a spill is detected, it must be immediately cleaned to avoid any damage due to corrosion, fire, explosion, or fumes. 

Installing dangerous goods cabinets is just one way to maintain workplace safety. Having proper protocols for handling hazardous materials will help minimise accidents.