The perfect safety cabinet: 3 questions you should ask before buying
Dealing with chemicals on an everyday basis requires a high degree of safety measures. Of course, not all chemicals are hazardous, but there is always a potential danger associated with their storage. This can not only affect your workplace but also your employees. As a preventive measure, ensuring safe chemical cabinet storage is a basic requirement for any industry or workshop that works with these materials.
The storage and handling of chemicals in the workplace is regulated under COSHH (Controls of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations, which set out guidelines on how to look after these materials. Using a DENIOS Chemical Storage Cabinet is the best way to ensure full compliance with the regulations, and protect your employees, visitors, and the immediate environment from accidents and contamination.
With the large selection of different safety cabinets available. however it is not so easy to find the right product for your application.
Here we tell you the questions you should consider so that you can select the appropriate solution.
1. Which type of cabinet is needed?
Of course, the safety cabinet you need depends on the materials you want to store. In order to select the appropriate cabinet type, it is best to assume that you have the greatest potential for danger. We have a wide variety of cabinets to suit every requirement.
The following guide offers you assistance with the procedure and shows you suitable product examples.
2. What equipment is needed?
Depending on the model, DENIOS safety cabinets offer various features for safe and comfortable working.
Technical ventilation
An important factor in the safety and health of employees is ventilation. In particular, in the storage of flammable hazardous substances permanently ex-zones in or in addition to the cabinet must be respected or guaranteed without technical ventilation. This is contrary to ATEX Directive 1999/92 / EC, since the prevention of explosive atmospheres (primary explosion protection) must always precede other measures. If for example corrosive or poisonous substances are stored or if there is an odour nuisance on the part of the employees due to stored substances, a technical ventilation should be provided. Depending on the model, safety cabinets have natural ventilation or exhaust connections for venting to the outside. With the DENIOS recirculating air filter attachment, it is also possible to cost-effectively ensure technical ventilation without the need for a complex exhaust air system and while avoiding explosion-protection measures.
Advantages and disadvantages of technical ventilation (at least 10 times / h):
| Pros |
|---|
| No health risk to employees |
| All hazardous substances (including acid and lye vapours) are eliminated |
| Cons |
|---|
| Costly exhaust ducts are possible |
| High energy consumption due to heat losses in the exhaust air |
| The safety cabinet can no longer be connected without connected equipment due to the connected exhaust air line |
Technical ventilation with a recirculating air filter attachment
| Pros |
|---|
| No health risk to employees |
| No hazardous areas have to be indicated in the safety cabinet |
| no expensive exhaust air ducts necessary |
| flexible installation of the safety cabinet |
| no energy losses due to exhaust air flow to the outside |
| permanent electronic monitoring of the exhaust air volume |
| tested and certified system |
| Cost savings for devices in the immediate vicinity of the safety cabinet (do not need to be Ex-protected) |
| Cons |
|---|
| only solvent vapours (hydrocarbons) can be filtered |
Customized door design
Manually operated double doors (1- or 2-wing) are the most common variant. As a space-saving solution with limited space, we also offer models with folding doors, sliding doors, blinds or vertical pull-outs. In addition, safety aspects in the door selection are not negligible. In the event of fire, self-closing doors or drawers are a must when storing flammable substances.
Product highlights here are safety cabinets with standard automatic door closing which releases the locked doors or vertical extensions after 60 seconds (audible and visual warning signals are given in front of the door lock). The cabinets are thus safely closed again after each operation. In order to always have the content in view, models with glass inserts are also available in the doors.
Tail Lift / Retractable Base
Depending on the model, security cabinets can be equipped with a retractable base. It may be worthwhile to consider this criterion when purchasing, if more frequent relocations are to be expected in advance (Caution: Transport safety cabinets only when empty!). The base makes it easy to drive underneath using a pallet truck and makes pallets for internal transport of the cabinet superfluous. In combination with the DENIOS recirculation air filter attachment for technical ventilation, these cabinets offer maximum flexibility in the choice of installation location.
Optimum design
Each safety cabinet has a tried and tested standard interior. In order for you to flexibly store your hazardous substances and to be able to react to the current requirements, many of our models allow an adjustment of the storage levels. Height-adjustable drip pans and shelves ensure optimal use of space here. Additional shelves, drip pans and pull-out shelves are optionally configurable or available as an option depending on the model.
Combination cabinets are the ideal solution when it comes to storing small quantities of different hazardous substances. Here vertical separations allow the separate storage of various substances in a cabinet. Chemical cabinets are available in model variants with special type 30 safety compartments according to EN 14470-1, which provide the necessary fire protection for smaller quantities of flammable hazardous substances.
Product recommendations
Effective leakage and spill prevention
In case of a leak, a spill tray is the most important element for retaining fluids. Steel or plastic drip pans are used in all types of safety cabinets for flammable liquids, non-flammable chemicals or corrosive substances such as acids and alkalis.
In order to protect the storage levels of sheet steel against corrosion when storing aggressive hazardous substances, insert trays made of plastic may possibly also be used. Many of our safety cabinets are equipped with retractable spill trays, which considerably facilitate access to the stored goods (small containers ≤ 1 liter). Also, pull-out trays can safely absorb dripping losses when filling and decanting water-polluting substances.
Detect leaks fast
Make sure you're protected against leaks by fitting a SpillGuard® hazardous substance alarm system. The first warning system of its kind - this innovative unit is fully autonomous and operational at the push of a button. This adaptable unit can be used with any type of spill pallet.
During the development of SpillGuard®, it was built into the design that the alarm be loud enough to still be heard through security doors. SpillGuard® reliably detects hazardous leaks, which savers you valuable time in rectifying a potentially dangerous situation.
Product recommendations
3. Variants
Depending on the requirements, different width versions are available, they can be placed directly next to the workbench or work table, and a base cabinet or a wall cabinet can be attached directly to the wall. Anyone wishing to store not only small containers but also barrels at the workplace can do so with a drum storage cabinet, which has been specifically designed for storing 205-litre drums.
Base cabinets are great for going storing lacquers, release agents, spraying oils or even chemicals for readily available access from a workbench or laboratory table. These are available in wing or hunge door designs from 593 mm up to 1402 mm.
Vertical or slimline cabinets are perfect for areas where space is limited and are available with several door designs to accommodate for this. If space is extremely limited, then you can opt for a vertical pull out door and shelving design like the Slim Scoper 45-5.
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The specialist information on this page has been compiled carefully and to the best of our knowledge and belief. Nevertheless, DENIOS Ltd cannot assume any warranty or liability of any kind, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, for the topicality, completeness and correctness either towards the reader or towards third parties. The use of the information and content for your own or third party purposes is therefore at your own risk. In any case, please observe the locally and currently applicable legislation.
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