FACTS

1. All stored chemicals should have their corresponding Safety Data Sheet (SDS) readily accessible at the location(s) where they are stored. Safety Data Sheets are required by government regulation for all hazardous chemical substances produced and/or sold in the United States. The use of all hazardous materials should be consistent with the provisions and precautions listed in the Safety Data Sheet.
2. A perpetual inventory of hazardous chemical substances should be maintained in the primary storage area for general control.
3. All locations where chemicals are stored and/or issued from should have appropriate inventory issue logs, as well as personal protective equipment. Caustic, flammable, and highly poisonous chemicals should be maintained under lock and key.
4. Any organization storing hazardous chemicals should have written policy requiring compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations governing the management and disposal of hazardous materials.
5. Because of the varying risks posed by volatile chemicals, it is necessary to identify and categorize all chemicals a business handles and to store properly and track chemical products in use within the organization.

STATS

• In April 2013, a stockpile a tenth the size of the one in Beirut blew up a West Chemical and Fertilizer Company facility in Texas, killing 15 people and injuring 160.
• A pair of chemical plant explosions in December 2019 led to a voluntary evacuation order for Port Neches, Texas, a coastal city of roughly 13,000 people.
• A chemical plant explosion in southeastern Kansas in November 2016 led to possible contamination of the water supply and discontinuation of water service to a nearby northeastern Oklahoma city.
• Ignorance and complacency are the cause of most flammable chemical accidents. A study conducted by the National Fire and Protection Association linked 454 deaths and 3,910 injuries to flammable and combustible liquid fires. All of these injuries and deaths could have been avoided if flammable chemicals had been properly stored and secured.
• At least 6,928 accidents involving toxic chemicals have occurred in the United States in the last five years, killing more than 135 people and injuring nearly 1,500, according to a Government report.