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Fertilizer
and Pesticide Storage
Summary of an Ideal Fertilizer and Pesticide Storage
Facility
Properly designed facilities promote storage, handling and disposal practices
that enhance worker safety and minimize the risk of point source contamination.
An ideal facility incorporates safety features in all aspects of its design
and provides:
- Secure storage of fertilizers away from pesticides.
- Secondary containment of day to day spills resulting from normal mixing/loading
operations.
- Secondary containment of large, accidental spills or leaks (separate
secondary containment for pesticides and fertilizers)
- Facilities for collecting, storing and recycling excess spray solutions
and rinsates.
- A dry, secure, well managed area for storing empty containers and
other waste prior to proper disposal.
- Office facilities for effective management and communications.
- Orderly, accessible storage for personal protection equipment (PPE)
and emergency supplies.
- Worker convenience facilities: first-aid and training areas, restrooms,
shower(s), laundry.
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Building a New Storage Facility
Building a new storage facility just for fertilizer storage may be expensive,
but generally it will be safer than trying to modify areas meant for other
purposes.
When selecting a site on which to build the facility, two basic criteria
should be considered:
- Human safety
- Environmental safety
When designing and building a new fertilizer or pesticide storage facility,
keep in mind a few simple principles of safe storage:
- Check with your state Cooperative Extension Service or department
of agriculture for design recommendations and requirements of a fertilizer
or pesticide storage facility.
- Check the local and state building codes and local zoning requirements
before constructing the facility.
- Have the site checked for background levels for potential soil and
water contaminants.
- Draw a facility site plan on which you locate and sketch important
structures and activity areas using accurate dimensions and distances.
- Locate the building downslope and away from your well. Separation
from the well should be greater if the site has sandy soils or fractured
bedrock near the soil surface. If the site must be upslope from the
well, be sure to take precautions to have any spill contained to prevent
it from moving into the water that supplies your well.
- Surface water should drain to a retention area in the event of a
fire.
- The mixing and loading area should be close to your storage facility,
to minimize the distance that chemicals are carried.
- Maintain safe separation distances from your fertilizer or pesticide
storage facility to other structures and activity areas.
- The building foundation should be well drained and high above the
water table. The finished grade should be 3 inches below the floor and
sloped away from the building to prevent frost heave. The subsoil should
have a low permeability.
- Provide pallets to keep large drums or bags off the floor in order
to keep them dry. Shelves for smaller containers should have a lip to
keep the containers from sliding off easily. Steel shelves are easier
to clean than wood if a spill occurs.
- If you plan to store large tanks, provide a containment area capable
of confining 110-125% of the volume of the largest container (check
state regulations).
- The building may need to be insulated and heated if fertilizer is
to be stored over the winter. It may need to be air conditioned in the
summer, depending on the type of fertilizers or pesticides stored.
- Keep the building locked and clearly labeled as a fertilizer or pesticide
storage area. Provide exterior illumination of the warning signs and
of the building to identify it as a fertilizer or pesticide storage
facility. Preventing unauthorized use of fertilizers or pesticides reduces
the chance of accidental spills or theft. Labels on the windows and
doors of the building give firefighters information about fertilizers
and other products present during an emergency response to a fire or
a spill. It is a good idea to keep a separate list of the chemicals
and amounts stored. If a fire should occur, consider where the water
used to fight the fire will go and where it might collect. For example,
a curb around the floor can help confine contaminated water.
- Provide adequate road access for deliveries and use, and in making
the storage area secure, also make it accessible, to allow getting fertilizers
and other chemicals out in a hurry.
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Modifying an Existing Facility
Some of the principles for safe fertilizer storage:
- Provide pallets to keep large drums or bags off the floor. Shelves
for smaller containers should have a lip to keep the containers from
sliding off easily. Steel shelves are easier to clean than wood if a
spill occurs.
- If you plan to store large bulk tanks, provide a containment area
large enough to confine 125 percent of the contents of the largest bulk
container.
- Keep the building locked and clearly labeled as a fertilizer storage
area. Preventing unauthorized use of fertilizers reduces the chance
of accidental spills or theft. Labels on the windows and doors of the
building give firefighters information about fertilizers and other products
present during an emergency response to a fire or a spill. It is a good
idea to keep a separate list of the chemicals and amounts stored. If
a fire should occur, consider where the water used to fight the fire
will go and where it might collect. For example, a curb around the floor
can help confine contaminated water.
- Provide adequate road access for deliveries and use, and in making
the storage area secure, also make it accessible, to allow getting fertilizers
and other chemicals out in a hurry.
- Never store fertilizers inside a wellhouse or a facility containing
an abandoned well.
If you decide to improve your current storage building, applying the
above principles can be expensive. However, compared to the cost of a
major accident, fine or lawsuit, storage improvements can be a bargain!
If that is not practical, consider how you can protect the fertilizers
that you keep on hand.
Sound containers are your first line of defense against a spill or leak.
If a container is accidentally ripped open or knocked off a shelf, the
spill should be confined to the immediate area and promptly cleaned up.
The building should have a solid floor and, for liquid fertilizers, a
curb. The containment volume should be large enough to hold the contents
of the largest full container.
Ideally, the fertilizer storage area should be separate from other activities.
If the building must also serve as a machine shed or as livestock housing,
you may find it difficult to meet all the requirements for safe storage.
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