Storing farm chemical properly in the South Burnett

This is the least exciting piece of equipment on a property and the one most likely to cost somebody a great deal of money by not being there. It comes up on the phone constantly, so here it is in full.

The usual arrangement

Spray chemical on a pallet in the corner of a machinery shed, next to the fuel and a bit of oil, on a dirt or gravel floor, sharing a roof with everything else on the place. It is how a very large proportion of properties in this district store it, and it works until a drum splits or a forklift tyne finds one.

At that point the problem is not the lost chemical. It is contaminated soil, a notifiable incident, a shed you cannot use while it is dealt with, and an insurer with detailed questions about how it was stored. The remediation regularly costs more than a compliant store would have.

What a bunded container actually does

The floor is built as a sealed bund with capacity to hold a spill rather than let it reach the ground. Ventilation is fitted so vapour cannot build up in a sealed steel box in February. Shelving is specified for the containers being stored. Signage goes on the outside so anyone arriving, including emergency services, knows what is in there before they open it.

It locks, it moves if the operation moves, and it puts the entire problem in one defined place that can be inspected. That last part is what makes it worth having when somebody asks.

Specify it against what is on the shelf

The requirement changes with class, with quantity and with what is stored alongside what. Segregation rules exist for good reasons — some combinations are fine apart and dangerous together — and the fittings, ventilation and signage are all built around that answer.

So the order of operations is: work out what you actually hold and roughly how much, then specify the unit. Not the other way round. Getting it wrong does not produce a refund, it produces a non-compliance finding at the worst possible moment.

Write the list before you ring. Product names and approximate volumes are enough to start with.

Buy or hire it

Most properties buy, because the need does not go away. Contractors and anyone with a defined project often hire, and a hire unit can be swapped for a different specification if the work changes. Both are available; the sums are worth doing rather than assuming.

Two things it does not do

It is not a fire solution. Steel conducts heat, the contents are frequently flammable, and a bunded container is a storage control, not a protection against fire. Site it away from the shed and the house, keep the surrounds clear, and tell your local brigade it is there.

It is also not a solution to water coming up. A bund contains what leaks out; it does nothing about what comes in. On low ground, block it up and site it high like anything else you care about.