The below is an excerpt from CIRIA publication W002 Chemical storage tank systems – good practice http://www.ciria.org and is reprintedhere with kind permission.
Introduction
Chemical storage poses a potential threat to the environment and health and safety, and careful management of the design, manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance of such facilities is required. CIRIA publication Chemical storage tank systems – good practice guidance (C598), provides detailed guidance on good practice in the design, manufacture, installation, operation, inspection and maintenance of tank systems. This document summarises the good practice advice provided in the full report. It is intended for use by any sized company, including regulators, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, installers, owners
and operators of chemical storage systems.
Due to the breadth of the subject, and as individual systems are likely to have individual requirements, specific solutions are generally not covered.
Aims
This guide aims to provide a general good practice guidance for the selection and design, manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance of chemical storage systems. It is intended for use by any sized company. Due to the breadth of the subject, and as individual systems are likely to have individual requirements, specific solutions are generally not covered within the scope of this guide.
The types of system covered by this document are generally above-ground permanent chemical storage systems incorporating tanks and/or facilities for storing containers of 200 litres and above. For the purposes of this document ‘chemical’ is deemed to be a liquid substance hazardous to health or to the environment which is included in the Approved Substances List under The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations.
However, the comments and recommendations in this document are also relevant to the storage of other substances (e.g. foodstuffs) which have potential to cause harm if they escape. Types of system not covered within the scope of this document include:
• Lagoons
• High pressure and vacuum systems
• High and low temperature systems (such as cryogenic)
• Underground storage tanks.
