Hazardous Goods Storage.

Anything classified under CLP as flammable, toxic, corrosive, oxidising or harmful to the environment — which covers fuels, solvents, paints, adhesives, acids, alkalis, pesticides and many workshop chemicals.

Your safety data sheets identify the classification for each substance, and those classifications drive both the storage requirements and the separation distances between incompatible materials.

Yes. Flammable liquids should be stored in a purpose-built cabinet with a sumped base to contain leaks, secure closure, and construction that resists fire for a defined period. Storing solvents in a standard tool cabinet is a common and serious failing.

Quantities kept in the workroom should be the minimum needed for the task, with bulk stock held in a separate store.

Separation distances depend on the substances, quantities and the construction of both the store and the building. For flammable liquid stores, guidance commonly starts at four metres from occupied buildings and boundaries, reducing where fire-rated construction is used.

Your fire risk assessment should determine the actual distance for your site, and the local fire authority can advise on specific cases.

No. Acids and alkalis, oxidisers and flammables, and cyanides and acids must be segregated — mixing in a spill or fire can produce violent reactions or toxic gases.

Segregation can be achieved with separate cabinets, or with internal partitioning and individual sumps in a larger store. Sharing a single sump means a leak from one container can reach another.

Flammable and volatile substance stores need ventilation sufficient to prevent vapour accumulating to hazardous concentrations, usually through high and low level vents providing natural cross-flow.

Sealed cabinets used for spill containment are not ventilated by design, so they suit corrosives and non-volatile materials better than solvents. Match the cabinet type to the substance.

Yes on both counts. Stores should be secured against unauthorised access and casual tampering, and marked with the appropriate hazard diamonds so anyone approaching — including the fire service — knows what is inside.

An inventory kept outside the store, not inside it, is good practice for the same reason.