COSHH Cabinet Requirements for Safe Chemical Storage

COSHH, which is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, is the law regarding the safe storage and use of hazardous substances. This law requires employers to follow a set of standards when storing chemicals, such as COSHH cabinet requirements. 

You must conduct a risk assessment before storing any chemicals and ensure that you purchase the right cabinet for any hazardous substances in the workplace. A chemical storage cabinet should be kept away from any chemical processing areas if your business works with and stores chemicals. Cabinets must be locked at all times, and safety signs must be in place for safe chemical storage.

What is COSHH?

COSHH is the law and must be followed by any employer who is working with and storing substances hazardous to health. If you cannot prevent exposure and storage of chemicals, you must follow the correct procedures to keep you and your employees safe. This means you must put control measures in place to minimise risk, such as using the correct storage facilities for chemicals. 

Performing COSHH risk assessments

Your employees must be kept safe, so measurements should be in place for handling any hazardous substances. You should then perform a risk assessment, assessing the nature of the chemical, the risks, and how to minimise these.  

You can find out more about performing a COSHH risk assessment on hazardous substances within your workplace on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website. You must take into consideration safe handling, minimising the risk of spillages during transportation, and how you can store chemicals safely in your workplace. 

Safety signs should be kept on the door of any rooms that contain hazardous substances and cabinets must be kept sealed. Any storage areas need to be in a separate area from processing areas if you also use chemicals onsite. 

Things to take into consideration when choosing a COSHH cabinet

If you need a COSHH cabinet for safely storing chemicals, there are a few things you need to take into consideration.

This includes the:

• amount of chemicals, e.g., how many litres

• properties of the chemicals, such as whether they are flammable, corrosive, or reactive

• size of the containers, as you may need more than one COSHH cabinet

• location of the cabinet, as this needs to be far from other hazardous substances, occupied buildings, and heat sources like lights

• ease of loading and unloading chemicals into the cabinet

The recommended COSHH cabinet requirements for safe chemical storage

When storing chemicals, you should read the manufacturer’s Safety Data Sheets (SDS). These will tell you how to store your chemicals safely, as each chemical is different. It is a legal requirement for the supplier or manufacturer to supply you with a printable or downloadable SDS, so if you do not have one, speak to the supplier straight away. 

Where your COSHH cabinet is located is extremely important. Any chemicals should be stored in a place with an easily accessible exit and should be close to handwashing facilities. COSHH cabinets with different chemicals should be stored away from each other, especially if they are reactive. If a fire were to break out in your workplace, having COSHH cabinets beside one another could cause a great deal of damage. 

When storing flammable chemicals, your COSHH cabinet must be fire-resistant and should be designed to retain spills. The cabinet must be stored in a well-ventilated area. You should never store more than 50 litres of highly flammable chemicals or more than 250 litres of other flammable chemicals in a COSSH cabinet. 

Many chemicals are best stored in a safe outdoor location, to minimise risk to employees and pedestrians. You may need to look for a COSSH cabinet that is weatherproof.  

The most common COSHH cabinets

There are a number of different COSHH cabinets that are used for safe chemical storage.

The most common of these are:

• alkaline or acidic chemical cabinets- these are usually made of steel and are white

• general storage cabinets- these are yellow and can contain general chemicals

• flammable and dangerous cabinets- this type of storage has a high melting point, which is designed this way to reduce the risk of fire 

• pesticide and agrochemical cabinets- these are vented so that any hazardous gases do not build up inside the storage cabinet

A good example of a highly effective COSHH cabinet solution is the UK-manufactured Cabtek range, including the COSHH Yellow Hazardous/Flammable Storage Cabinets sold by SafetyBuyer. These specialised cabinets offer a fully welded, heavy-duty steel construction, providing fire resistance of 30 minutes and a melting point greater than 750 degrees Celsius, as well as a high-grade epoxy-polyester powder coating for even greater durability. Additionally, these cabinets are available in a range of sizes, and have adjustable shelves to better meet your storage needs.

Safety measures for COSHH cabinet storage areas

As well as storing the chemicals safely, you must ensure that COSHH cabinets are kept away from view. You may need to install metal fencing or lockable covers to keep cabinets away from risk. Any rooms that store cabinets should be kept under lock and key, with only designated key holders. Anyone with a key should sign it in and out at the end of their shift. 

CCTV is strongly advised if you store a lot of hazardous chemicals. There should be regular security patrols to check that cabinets are locked, and chemicals remain safely out of reach.