Corrosive substances are chemicals that can potentially be very, very, damaging to your property and the environment but can also be very hazardous to people as well. The hazardous property of corrosive chemicals is their propensity to dissolve matter through chemical reactions. Corrosive substances, depending on their potency.

These chemicals are usually classified as either acids or bases. Acids are either organic or inorganic, Organic Acids are organic compounds that have acidic properties. Common examples are lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid (vitamin c), and many, many, more. Examples of inorganic acids are sulphuric and hydrochloric acids. Bases that are corrosive are usually inorganic and includes substances like ammonia and sodium hydroxide. Aside from acids and bases other substances can be corrosive as well, substances like chlorine, bromine or other oxidizing agents can be corrosive as well. Check the substances Material Safety Data Sheet or (MSDS) and product labels to see if they have corrosive properties.

When working, handling or storing corrosive materials, special care needs to be taken. Where corrosive materials are concerned, damage begins at first contact with any surface. Any exposure, brief or prolonged, if left untreated can lead to some rather unpleasant ailments. The extent of injuries if exposed to these corrosive substances are dependent on the strength and concentration of the substance, as well as the time and duration of the contact. Please note that some corrosive chemicals can be toxic as well and can cause other health issues if exposed without any proper treatment.
Other potential risks that come with handling corrosive materials is when it comes into contact with your eyes. This can cause anything from irritation to blindness. Inhalation of the vapors and fumes from corrosive substances and their reactions to materials can irritate and burn your throat, windpipe, lining of your nose and your lungs, while actually swallowing the corrosive can burn pretty much whatever internal organ they touch. The most common accidental interaction with corrosive substances is with contact with your skin. This can lead to irritation, dryness to severe damage to the point of contact. Some other extreme effects to contact is systematic / organ damage.

For non-biological damage. Corrosives can destroy metals, this can lead to damaged containers, equipment and even building materials and installations, especially if they are made from incompatible (reactive) materials, the dangers increase when stronger corrosives or high temperatures are added to the equation. Aside from the damage to metals and other materials, something to look out for is that Hydrogen is a common byproduct of the corrosion reaction, as seen in the Hindenburg, hydrogen is highly flammable and explosive if it is ignited.

This is the reason why the handling and proper storage of corrosive chemicals is of utmost priority that is as important as handling of flammable materials. This is the reason why we here at Wholesale Safety Storage Australia only offers Indoor Corrosive / Chemical Storage that complies with Australian Standards.

Features

When storing corrosive substances especially when it’s indoors, it’s important that the storage is designed that it minimises the potential risk the corrosive material brings to your business. This is achieved by designing and manufacturing the cabinet according to Australian standards, and that means following some features.

Construction: Our Indoor Corrosive / Chemical Storage Cabinets are made with a double wall construction with an integrated 40 mm thermal barrier. Our cabinet’s floor, walls, doors, and roof are made with double walled steel. The gaps in between the steel panels are filled with fire resistant insulations thus adding another level of protection from radiant heat from either internal or external fires that may occur.

The Indoor Corrosive / Chemical Storage’s super structure (the parts that are critical to its structural integrity) is made of materials that will not melt in temperatures below 850 degrees Celsius. This does not include the cabinet’s seals and gaskets of course.

Integrated with every one of our Indoor Corrosive / Chemical Storage cabinets, is a liquid-tight sump that is at least 150mm deep (more capacity for cabinets with larger capacities). The sump is designed to contain only liquid that is spilled inside the cabinet.

The walls of our storage cabinets include built in ventilation ports and integral flash arrestors on each side. The shelving of our cabinets are made of galvanised steel thus improving their structural integrity. Due to the innate strength of the material our shelving can handle the maximum load the cabinet is rated for, at all times. The shelves are also perforated to promote free airflow inside the cabinet, coupled with the venting ports and flash arrestors this helps prevent even more highly flammable fumes from accumulating inside the cabinet. The perforations in the shelving also have an additional function of draining any spilled liquid to the integrated sump located at the bottom of the cabinet.

Each shelf is lined with a chemically resistant thermoplastic coating. This ensures a long term protection against corrosive substances

Our cabinets all feature adjustable feet to ensure absolute stability and leveling even in moderately uneven surfaces.

To avoid any static or electrical discharging accident that might cause the contents of the cabinet to ignite a grounding connector was incorporated into the design of our cabinets. Located on the outside panel of the cabinet for ease of installation for earthing purposes.

The cabinet will then be sealed by a highly durable and very visible, UV stabilised powder coating. We chose powder coating over conventional paint because Powder coating leaves a more durable coating compared to paint. Powder coating also makes cleaning the cabinet easier while also keeping the superstructure of the cabinet safe from oxidation / rust, since the cabinet is primarily made of steel.

Safety and warning signage are also pre applied in the most visible locations of the cabinet to comply with Australian standards.

For businesses that handle any amount of corrosive chemicals, knowing what goes into a quality, regulation compliant, Indoor Corrosive / Chemical Storage cabinet is a matter of utmost importance. It can be considered as the first line of defense in case of any fire. Of course doing your research and following safety regulations is equally important for the safety of your business.