The idea of hazard storage raises alarms at the workplace, in the home, and on the road. However, hazardous materials are transported and stored worldwide with extraordinary safety and consistency, thanks to regulations and strict adherence to best practices.
These days, the challenges of hazard storage can be overcome with the right approach and cooperation by manufacturers, packaging suppliers, supply chain partners, and end users in retail and home environments.
This article outlines the meaning of hazard storage, the risks at play, what regulations to know about, and how to use packaging solutions to protect your brand and customers.
What Is Hazard Storage?
With so many regulatory agencies, organizations, and private companies working to address the needs of hazard storage, you can get a dozen different definitions of this concept based on who you ask.
But for our purposes, we’ll define hazard storage in simple terms: storing any hazardous materials that may hurt human health or the environment.
Such materials take many forms and have applications throughout the public and private sectors, home, and recreational settings.
From roadway repairs and building maintenance to fueling stations, construction sites, auto mechanics, and hobby shops, hazardous materials are universal. They must be stored and handled with care in all circumstances.
Who Regulates Hazard Storage?
Properly storing hazardous materials isn’t just a matter of common sense — regulatory agencies enforce best practices across many industries and settings.
In the United States, hazardous materials are regulated by the EPA, OHSA, the DOT, and NRC. Each organization has a domain over different aspects of hazardous material definitions and how they must be handled.
The EPA, for instance, regulates how hazardous materials should be disposed of and removed. At the same time, OSHA focuses on mitigating the risks of hazardous materials in the workplace and commercial storage compliance.
Since regulations are frequently evolving and shifting parameters, product makers must pay close attention to any updates and changes that may occur and be applied to their industries.
This is why consumer goods products often partner with packaging suppliers that know the legal and regulatory landscape, ensuring they stay on the right side of compliance no matter what changes.
Applicable Materials
Which materials are considered hazardous, and how do these differ from items that pose smaller or less impactful health hazards, such as cleaning supplies?
Here’s a breakdown of some common hazardous materials and what brands should know:
- Fuel and petroleum products
- Asphalt and concrete curing products
- Agricultural fertilizers and pesticides
- Certain pharmaceutical products and OTC drugs
- Acids, stains, solvents, and paints
- Preservatives for industrial use
- Septic waste and other waste products
These materials may differ in composition and application, but they share the common ground of potentially harming humans without proper protection and storage methods.
If your brand works in any of these industries or plans to introduce a new product in the category above, consult the full range of legal and regulatory literature to protect your company and consumers.
General Best Practices
There is no all-encompassing set of best practices for managing and storing hazardous materials, but specific strategies fall under common sense and general risk management.
For starters, hazardous material containers must be inspected with ongoing caution and attention from production through all supply chain steps and also when reorganizing or configuring items in a store setting.
Supervisors and workers must also know the critical categories of hazardous materials designated in training and separate materials based on chemical properties in proper confinement areas or containment zones.
In outdoor environments, proper ventilation and secondary contaminants are usually required to prevent unexpected hazards like wind, rain, and other factors.
In a spill or other emergency, employees must have quick access to spill-cleanup materials and protective gear to keep them safe when interacting with hazardous substances.
Additional steps and standards are needed for loading and unloading processes, maintenance considerations, and unlikely emergencies. With ongoing communication, training, and updates, hazards can be kept to a minimum, even in a fast-paced work zone.
What Are the Goals and Risks of Hazard Storage?
The basics of hazard storage involve identifying materials and fundamental processes, but preparation is just part of the equation.
What practical goals do workplaces set out to achieve when storing hazardous materials, and what methods can they use to mitigate risks when pushing the pace of production and performance?
Safe Yet Accessible
Hazardous materials aren’t kept around for their bright colors and eye-catching labels. These materials are needed to complete the job on time and efficiently, meaning accessibility is a crucial success factor in any setting.
Therefore, supervisors and workers must walk the tightrope of safety and access with hazardous materials, ensuring they are correctly stored while also ready for action at any moment.
Time, effort, and labor coordination are vital considerations, whether this requires the use of machinery, protective gear, extra supervision, or technical support. With proper packaging and training, labor forces can quickly and frequently access materials as needed while combating risk.
Limiting Material Degradation
Hazardous materials are more prone to degradation and may have a shorter shelf life than standard consumer goods.
Product storage is essential in prolonging these potentially volatile substances’ life cycles and ensuring total cost-effectiveness with each unit purchased.
By ensuring tight seals, controlled storage environments, and minimal exposure to elements like oxygen and moisture, valuable materials may last longer while reducing risk and error in the workplace.
Safe Removal and Disposal
At some point, hazardous materials must be removed from the working environment in a safe and organized way. Even if material containers appear empty or exhausted, residue within these storage units can be potentially harmful if exacting disposal methods are not followed.
Many dangerous situations occur in the latter half of a product life cycle, when employees may be less attentive to following disposal best practices.
Workplace supervisors should double down on this aspect of training to ensure that all hazardous materials are entirely and safely removed from the environment.
How Can You Minimize Hazards With Packaging Solutions?
Dealing with hazardous materials is a fact of life in many work settings and at home. Best practices can keep people safe, but proper packaging is also crucial to minimizing risk while providing access and convenience when needed.
Here are some ways that quality packaging solutions can add security and safety to hazardous material storage while offering an accessible and smooth experience for users in any setting.
Smart and Safe Formats
Packaging formats make all the difference in user experience and ensure safer usage of hazardous materials. High-volume steel drums and salvage barrels are often pictured when discussing these materials.
Still, many high-density plastics and flexible solutions are used in industrial and home environments.
Stand-up pouches, for instance, are becoming more common for storing popular household cleaning supplies and chemicals. These formats offer convenience, maneuverability, and safety seals with lab-tested child-resistant features.
Strong and Durable Materials
The typical cardboard box won’t do the job when handling hazardous substances. Industrial-grade metals and rigid thermoplastics are the most reliable in hazard storage, yet flexible plastics like Mylar have also proven trustworthy.
A mix of metal, rigid plastic, flexible films, wraps, bags, and adhesive or supporting materials is necessary to store hazardous materials throughout the life cycle.
With costs and labor challenges rising, it’s no surprise that industry leaders always look for the following packaging solution that streamlines the process.
Warning Labels, Symbols, and More
Formats and materials form the basis of any packaging strategy, but labels are also key to meeting compliance needs and keeping people safe.
Label requirements differ across industries and applications, so packaging suppliers are often trusted to handle the details of labeling design and implementation.
Even the most minor violation of labeling information and symbols can result in heavy fines, so brands cannot risk improvising this critical step.
Meet the Demands of Hazard Storage and Compliance
Brands have much to learn from the principles of hazard storage, even if they aren’t producing dangerous materials like corrosive chemicals or explosives.
Many of the lessons from hazard storage regulations can be adapted and applied to everyday storage best practices and help develop packaging solutions that keep workers and shoppers safe in all settings.
If you want to level up your products with stronger, safer, and more reliable packaging that sets your brand apart, Dymapak is here to make it happen.
For years, we have worked with brands across industries to create practical and appealing product packaging that checks all the boxes for compliance — whether with hazardous materials or common consumer goods like snacks and supplies.
As regulations ramp up and consumer standards rise each year, brands can apply the concepts of hazard storage to deliver a better experience for shipping partners, retailers, customers, and whoever engages with your products.
Let’s bring your products to the next tier of quality and compliance, starting right now.
Sources:
What is Hazardous Material Storage | Safeopedia
Materials Storage & Warehouse Safety Best Practices | Department of Labor
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