ATTENTION must be paid to safe storage of chemicals in a manufacturing, packaging and retail shops. Where they exist, regulation is common-sense considerations such as storage of large quantities in a separate building, or for smaller quantities in a separate room. They should be well – labelled in more than one language if necessary. Such storage areas should well ventilate to prevent accumulation of toxic and flammable volatiles and have washing areas. They should also be a safe distance from food storage areas, rivers and, if large, from centers of population. High temperatures may speed up corrosion of containers and cause tanks to expand and leak. All pesticides should be stored in their original, well labelled robust containers and not in anything which may resemble a food or beverage container. Observance of these simple rules should protect workers frequenting storage areas.
The storage facility should be constructed of fire – resistant material. In the event of fire, the emergency services should always be warned about the hazards of a significantly large pesticide storage facility. Very large storage areas should be avoided. In the event of accidents or emergencies such as fire, the destruction of very large storage complexes can be not only very dangerous to personnel of the emergency services but can be potentially catastrophic. The Sandoz incident in Basel of 1986 comes to mind where a large facility was destroyed by fire. The River Rhine was badly polluted and the entire population of the city of Basel had to endure atmospheric pollution for at least 24 hours afterwards
Many problems arise with individual farmers who use pesticides for their own small farming operations. One cannot regulate the safe storage of such products in the home environment but appropriate labeling making abundantly clear the need to store the item safely would help.