Chemical Storage Buildings: What Style Fits Your Needs?

Deciding to invest in a prefabricated hazmat storage building to keep your chemicals and flammable liquids safe is a great first step. But, which chemical storage building do you select? How do you configure it to best suit your needs?

Chemical Storage Building Styles: Occupancy and Non-Occupancy

Occupancy style walk-in storage buildings allow workers to enter the building. Workers can perform tasks and chemical processes, or load and unload storage containers, from inside the hazmat storage building. Non-occupancy style rack chemical storage buildings do not allow worker access in normal use. They receive drums or totes onto racks using forklifts or other mechanical loading devices.

Occupancy (Walk-In Style) Chemical Storage Buildings

Single drum or small container storage use walk-in style chemical storage buildings. Double entry doors allow pallet loading or personnel access with a drum dolly. Optional ramps simplify loading and unloading of drums. Standard or customized shelving solutions enable storage of small bottles and chemical containers. A specialized use of walk-in style storage buildings is for process isolation. Use mixing or dispensing rooms to segregate these hazardous activities from other operations. Containment sumps capture spills while shelving and worktops match workflow requirements. Fit fume hoods and emergency safety showers into process isolation hazardous material storage buildings for employee safety.

Other specialized applications of walk-in style buildings include:

• Mixing Rooms
• Dispensing Rooms
• Laboratories
• Mixed Use Buildings
• household hazardous waste buildings to segregate incompatible materials
• Storage pr charging of lithium batteries
• Turf chemical storage where smaller container sizes are mixed in with large containers

Non-Occupancy (Rack Style) Chemical Storage Buildings

A common use of rack style storage is for storing pallets containing chemical drums. Pallets load into bays that are one or two pallets deep and buildings have one or two tiers. Up to 48 palletized loads (192 drums) can fit into a single rack style storage building – but even more when using a modular configuration. Racks are adjustable to suit pallet loads or totes depending on the need. Doors on rack style hazmat storage buildings cater for forklift access. Options include roll-up, hinged or sliding doors. It is even possible to fit front and rear doors for easy access to any pallet in storage.

Safety Features for Chemical Storage Buildings

Both walk-in style and rack style chemical storage buildings can be customized with any available safety feature. Buildings can be non-fire rated, or have 2-hour or 4-hour fire rating. All buildings feature containment sumps to capture spills and leaks. Add climate control, forced ventilation or fire suppression systems to your storage building. Explosion relief panels provide extra safety for storing and dispensing flammable liquids. Check with your local authorities whether you need these for your application.

Order Your Occupancy or Non-Occupancy Chemical Storage Building Today

U.S. Chemical Storage supplies pre-fabricated walk-in style and rack style chemical storage buildings. All buildings can be customized to your specific needs. Find out more about chemical storage building options here.