Building an Agrichemical Store
Safe storage of agricultural chemicals is obviously an important issue that you must pay attention to. Some of the issues you need to consider include:
Location
Regardless whether your store is temporary or permanent, standalone or part of an existing building, it must be situated:
- in a safe place, away from water, environmentally sensitive areas, storage areas for fuel or other flammable goods and incinerators
- in an area that is not prone to flooding
- away from strong winds
Construction
Your store must be soundly built and comply with its resource consent, local by-laws and regional and district plans. Specific construction issues include:
- ceilings and walls constructed of appropriate fire rating materials
- good ventilation and lighting
- no direct sunlight on stored products
- appropriate signage.
Spill containment
Your store's construction should incorporate a system to contain spills, e.g. a fully bunded impervious floor OR drip trays. This helps avoid spills or leaks spreading and contaminating other agrichemicals in the store, the ground or waterways. One option for smaller agrichemical containers is to store them in fish bins or clean, used plastic containers cut in half.
Secondary containment (e.g. bunding) must be installed when the quantities of liquid substances exceed certain levels.
| Hazard class |
Threshold quantity above which
secondary containment is required |
| 6.1A, 6.1B, 6.1C |
100 L |
| 6.1D, 6.5A, 6.5B, 6.7A |
1,000 L |
| 6.6A, 6.7B, 6.8A, 6.9A |
10,000 L |
| 8.2A |
100 L |
| 8.2B |
1,000 L |
| 8.2C, 8.3A |
10,000 L |
| 9.1A |
100 L |
| 9.1B, 9.1C |
1,000 L |
| 9.1D |
10,000 L |
The specific secondary containment requirements also depend on:
- the total quantity of hazardous substances eg >5,000 litres
- the hazard classes eg class 6,8,9 only or also classes 1-5
- the size of the container - up to 60 litres, 60-450 litres, and greater than 450 litres.
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Refer to Product Safety Cards or HazNotes for threshold values for secondary containment for individual products. Alternatively, WorkSafe's Hazardous Substances Calculator will work out if you need secondary containment.
For full details on the safe storage of agrichemicals, see Appendix F of the NZS 8409:2021 Management of Agrichemicals.
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