Storage of Hazardous Substances at Work

More than 150,000 businesses and workplaces in New Zealand use or store hazardous substances.

If you own or manage a business that uses hazardous substances then you must comply with all of the rules relating to the safe use and storage of Hazardous Substances. Worksafe have built the Hazardous Substances Toolbox to assist businesses in understanding what they need to do to comply with the rules. It is worth a look for any business owner concerned about legal compliance and safety best practice in relation to hazardous goods use and storage.

According to worksafe it provides;

• a practical guide with reference material to work through five steps to safety
• an emergency response flipchart
• a workbook with templates and instructions for completing an inventory (the first step in managing your substances)
• 'Your Health Your Future' and 'Know the Hazards' posters for your workplace
• the HSNO calculator to work out what key HSNO controls you need to have in place, and
• animated videos to help you train your staff to work safely with hazardous substances.

Worksafe have also developed a website with information specifically tailored to industries that are frequent users of dangerous, flammable, toxic, and hazardous goods.

You can find information pertaining to your industry in the links below.

• Agriculture/Horticulture (Insecticides)
• Boat Building
• Collision Repair Workshops
• Compressed Gases
• Drycleaning
• Embalming
• Explosives (Including Pyrotechnics)
• Transporting Explosives
• Farming
• Fumigants
• Metal Products
• Printing
• Retail Hardware
• Service Stations
• Surface Coatings
• Timber Treatment
• Vertebrate Toxic Agents
• Signs Warning of VTA Use

Once you have taken an inventory of the HSNO substances in use in your business and developed a plan for the safe use and storage you will need to purchase appropriate storage cabinets that meet the required standards.

All Round Safety have a great range of all of the dangerous goods cabinets you need including;

• Dangerous Goods Cabinets
• Oily Waste Cans
• Class 4 Dangerous Goods Cabinets
• Corrosive Goods Cabinets Metal
• Polyethelene Corrosive Goods Cabinets
• Flammable Liquid Storage Cabinets
• Toxic Goods Storage Cabinets
• Gas Cylinder Cages
• Aerosol Cages

In addition to Hazardous Goods storage your plan should also include eye protection, safety data sheet holders and signage, emergency showers and eye wash stations, fire extinguishers, chemical resistant gloves, protective coveralls, respiratory protection, spill containment, spill response,  and signage.

Person in Charge

Every business must name a person in charge to manage the hazardous substances stored and/or in use at their premises. This person is responsible for making sure the hazardous goods they are in charge of are managed safely and don’t put the health and safety of people at risk or cause damage to the environment.

The person in charge may be the owner of the site but in some cases it can be the landlord or building manager, particularly where there is a sub-lease.

The hazardous substances regulations layout clear responsibilities for the person in charge. According to Worksafe you must;

• identify all hazardous substances present and maintain a hazardous substances inventory
• make certain that people handling the substances are trained or supervised
• ensure information is readily available to the people handling the substance in the form of labels, safety data sheets and signs
• ensure that emergency arrangements are in place to deal with any potential emergency
• obtain and keep up to date all necessary test certificates.