Do you and your people know what and how much chemicals you have on-site at any given time? Chemical inventories not only make good business sense and help protect the workplace from potential hazardous material accidents – they are required by strict safety regulations.
In this post, we briefly cover the importance of having proper chemical inventory management and how to comply with these regulations. Keep reading to make sure you and your company are safe and in the clear.
Chemical Explosion Dangers
When a company is storing or manufacturing chemicals it is essential that those chemicals are not stored in excess. The consequences of stockpiling explosive chemicals are plainly seen in a recent disaster in Lebanon.
A warehouse fire at the port of Beirut caused a massive tragedy where at least 200 people lost their lives when over three thousand tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate exploded.
Chemical Management: Guidelines for Safe Storage
Safely storing hazardous materials requires attention to every detail. Besides reducing the number of chemicals on hand to only what is needed, there are several other standards concerning:
- Proper labeling
- Location factors (temperatures, ventilation, flooring)
- SDS management
- Separation of chemical inventory into compatible groups
- Storage of flammable and explosive chemicals
These guidelines and OSHA safety protocols need to be studied and employees handling and working around these chemicals need to be certified. Companies in the United States that fail to meet these strict guidelines put their employees at greater risk of injury and death as well as risk costly shutdowns and hefty fines.
Updated Safety Data Sheets
Safety data sheets (SDS) are a critical part of chemical safety programs. The SDS contains all important information concerning the safe handling and storage of the chemical. All chemical manufacturers and distributors are required by the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard to provide accurate SDS for the chemicals they deal in.
What’s more, any business that requires employees to work with or around hazardous chemicals must make the SDS easily available for referencing safety precautions concerning those chemicals. OSHA requires that SDS be easily assessable at the location they are stored.
These days most everyone carries around an internet-connected device so it just makes good sense to provide online access to SDS for you and your employees. With one centrally located online database, employees have all their SDS needs easily accessible. Our Online-SDS™ brand management software takes the work out of chemical inventory management with the ability to run reports, print labels, index SDS, and more.
Safe Chemical Inventories
Managing occupational health is the responsibility of every company and one that should not be taken lightly. Making sure employees have the training and information available about hazardous chemical inventories should be a business priority.
We are here to help. Our software and services cover everything you need to keep your work environment safe and regulatory agency compliant. Contact KHA today and schedule a demo of our online SDS software.
