Explosive Atmospheres Regulations

The dangerous substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) require risks from the indoor storage of dangerous substances to be controlled by elimination or by reducing the quantities of such substances in the workplace to a minimum and providing mitigation to protect against foreseeable incidents. Because the vapors of flammable liquids ignite and burn easily, strict storage requirements are essential.

There are two primary hazards associated with flammable and combustible liquids: explosion and fire. In order to prevent these hazards, this standard addresses the primary concerns of: design and construction, ventilation, ignition sources, and storage.

It is recognized that for practical purposes where flammable liquids are used, there is likely to be a need for a limited quantity to be stored in the workroom/working area. It is the responsibility of the employer / duty holder when carrying out their risk assessment required under DSEAR Regulation 5, to justify the need to store any particular quantity of flammable liquid within a workroom/working area. However, the guiding principle is that only the minimum quantity needed for frequently occurring activities or that required for use during half a day or one shift should be present in the workroom/working area. Clearly actual quantities will depend on the work activity and also the organizational

Ensure to the storage cabinets is to standard and in good condition, ensure the cabinets need repainted if needed, and have items secured to the cabinet doors through the metal. While these situations appear quite frequently in the workplace, these hazardous practices should be discontinued immediately to prevent employees from being exposed to greater