Sometimes outdoor storage of drums and IBCs is required due to space restrictions or as a direct operational need. When this is the case, there are a few things you need to take into consideration that you may not have thought about. Below, we offer our top five tips for safe outdoor storage.

1. Designate Specific Areas

Ensuring you designate specifics areas for your bunded storage will help with housekeeping, health and safety and environmental protection. You should try to determine key areas for:

• The delivery and inspection of liquids to site
• The decanting of liquids from one container to another and or from one area to another
• The authorised disposal of waste liquids

These measures will help reduce the risk of mix-ups or potential incidents occurring.

2. Identify What Is On Site

In order to help staff identify the substances they are working with, you must ensure each liquid is clearly labelled by content name and their associated hazards detailed. This information can be found on the Safety Data Sheet and will help with storage and handling conditions including segregation.

3. Protect Your Site And Surrounding Areas

Should you store drums or IBCs outdoors, then it is imperative you protect them from the elements. You could for instance use a covered spill pallet with a liquid tight sump such as our recently modified Hard Covered Spill Pallet, which can hold 2 x IBC or 8 x 205ltr drums.

After listening to feedback from a range of customers we changed from hinged double doors to twin sliding doors. The main benefits of doing this are:
No longer requires additional space to allow the doors to open and close
No risk of the doors being caught by the wind whilst being opened or closed and causing injury to staff accessing the unit.

4. Know Your Drains & Run Off Areas

Knowing where spilt or leaking liquids will run to in the event of a spill is an essential part of your site response plan; as is identifying all the different types of drains on site, knowing where they flow to and making provisions to temporarily seal them to prevent any run off from accessing them.

Remember to include firewater runoff in your planning and how you will contain it. You are responsible for any unauthorised discharge and could face prosecution; leading to fines and or a potential prison sentence.

5. Have An Emergency Response Plan

When storing any volume of liquid in or outdoors, it is essential that you draft an emergency response plan covering:

• Assessment
• Containment
• Evacuation
• Clean Up
• Reporting and Replenishing

It is also essential that all staff understand the process should any incident occur and are trained accordingly. This includes knowing the layout of the site, the correct equipment to use (and when to use it) and knowing how to ensure they remain safe at all times.

In Any Doubt?

Our team are experts in secure, compliant storage and are on hand to help answer your questions. Get in touch!