Storage
Storage of pesticides on the agricultural holding
The safe storage of pesticides (also known as plant protection products) on farms, forestry and crop spraying companies’ sites is essential to prevent contamination of operators and the environment. In order to safeguard health and safety there are decrees how plant protection products have to be stored.
Construction of store room
A plant protection products store should be used exclusively for that purpose and be separate from other buildings. 10 metres is regarded as the minimum distance between a plant protection products store and another building. Where this is not possible, the walls separating it from other buildings should be solid and not allow any internal communication with other structures.
The site of the store should be not less than 10 metres from any watercourse, well, drainage ditch or spring, and should never be situated on steep slopes or in places at risk of flooding. The store should always be built above ground. Cellars are inappropriate places for storing plant protection products.
The materials used in the construction of stores may be of various types but they must be robust, fireproof and easy to clean. Concrete, brick and stone are the recommended materials. The floor must also be impermeable to liquids. The roof, as well as being incombustible, must provide sufficient thermal insulation to prevent extreme temperatures inside the store. This aspect, combined with efficient ventilation, normally by means of openings in the upper and lower part of the walls, will ensure adequate renewal of the air inside the store.
In some circumstances, despite good ventilation, because of the nature of the stored products, it is not possible to keep the store completely odour free, but this does not mean that the atmosphere in the store poses a risk to human health.
An important aspect to be borne in mind in the construction of the store is its ability to retain any spillage or firefighting water. The possible solutions will depend on the local conditions, but in the majority of cases on farms, constructing the floor a few centimetres below soil level will be a good solution. In other cases, creating a spill pond by waterproofing the floor and the lower parts of the walls and constructing ramps at the doors to prevent the loss of liquid to the exterior may be an alternative. The spill pond should have a capacity of 110% of the volume of liquids stored.
Lighting should be sufficient to read the labels on the products without difficulty. Where there are shelves, they should be made from washable, non-absorbent and non-inflammable materials.
Storage rules
Plant protection products should be stored in such a way as to maintain the quality of the products and ensure the safety of workers who have access to them. The products should be stored exclusively in their original containers and in a position that enables them to be readily identified from their labels. It should be stressed that it is only permitted to store and use registered and approved products . Only the quantities needed for plant protection purposes on the agricultural holding should be stored, and the oldest product in the store should always be used first, in line with the rule, "First In, First Out”.
First in first out
Solid products should be stored on shelves above liquid products. Doing so there is no liquid dropping on solids in case of leakage.
The plant protection products store should also be used to store, all the utensils used in measuring and weighing products, such as measuring devices, pails, etc. Ensure that all utensils are cleaned before stored. The store is also an ideal place to store empty containers in purpose-designed bags, for later delivery to empty container collection schemes.
Where there are seeds treated with plant protection products, they can also be kept in this store until sowing, to prevent animals coming into contact with them.
Health and safety
Access to a plant protection products store should always be restricted. Only people trained to handle these types of products should be allowed to enter the store, and should only do so briefly. Clearly printed signs should be affixed at the entrance, visible from the exterior, indicating that it is a plant protection products store. The entrances to the store should be kept locked and be marked with the following safety signs: ‘keep out’, ‘no naked flames’ and ‘no smoking’. The ventilation windows should be barred to prevent intrusion.
There should be no potential fire ignition sources in the store and the electrical installation should be conform to current certification regulations.
It is essential to keep stores clean and tidy and to ensure that workers who have access to them understand the health and safety rules to be observed. Hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are essential for all who potentially come into contact with plant protection products. Neither the place where the PPE is stored nor the washing facilities should be in the same compartment as that used for storing the products. Where operators put on PPE in the place where it is stored, there should be a separate locker/compartment for storing their ordinary clothes.
The existence of a chemical powder extinguisher is also recommended. The store should be provided with equipment for dealing with spillages: sand, strong plastic sacks, buckets, brush and dustpan.
Cleaning up spillages in a plant protection products store should be done with care: immediately contain the spillage and ventilate the store well. Afterwards clear up the spilled product and clean the site. Where the spilled product is a solid, an industrial vacuum cleaner fitted with a filter may be used, or if this is not available, scatter damp fine sand on the spill and use a brush and dustpan to clear it up. In the case of spilled liquids, an inert material (e.g. fine sand) should be used to absorb it and clear it up. The substances resulting from spillages should be stored in plastic sacks for later disposal.
Checklist
Safety is crucial when storing plant protection products. We recommend the use of the following checklist of the essential conditions of a store. Where the answer to any of these questions is “NO”, the item concerned should be corrected:
- Are the plant protection products are stored in separate compartments used exclusively for this purpose?
- Are the plant protection products stored separately from fertilisers?
- Are the plant protection products stored separately from personal protective clothing?
- Are the plant protection products registered and approved for the purpose for which they are to be used (pests, disease, weeds, crop)?
- Are the plant protection products stored in a solidly built structure?
- Is the storage place kept locked?
- Is the storage place protected against extreme temperatures?
- Are there signs prohibiting smoking and naked flames?
- Does the storage place have constant and sufficient ventilation to prevent the accumulation of hazardous vapours?
- Is the storage place sufficiently well lit to enable the labels of the products on the shelves to be read?
- Are the storage shelves made of non-absorbent, non-inflammable materials, e.g. metal?
- Are products in powder or granule form stored on shelves, above liquids?
- Is the storage place provided with equipment for dealing with spillages (receptacle containing inert materials such as sand, waste bin and plastic sacks) in a clearly marked place and ready for use?
- Near the place of storage, is there an eye wash bottle and water for decontaminating operators in the event of an accidental spillage, and a clear procedure, including emergency telephone numbers (toxicological centre, police, ambulance, hospital, fire service) and a first aid guide?
- Are all items mentioned in the above point regularly updated and clearly signed?
- Are there clean bathrooms/showers and washbasins at the workplace?
- Is an inventory kept of the products held?
- Is the inventory updated every 3 months?
Further information:
Publication from CropLife - Guidelines for the safe warehousing of crop protection products (pdf). This booklet covers the important area of warehousing and storage of crop protection products. It includes advice on construction and operation of facilities, as well as procedures in case of emergency.
