Answering Common Questions Regarding How To Store Flammable Liquids

20 Feb 2025

Common Questions About How to Store Flammable Liquids in the Workplace

Flammable liquids are Classed by the Australian Dangerous Goods code as a Class 3 dangerous good, and as such they should be carefully handled and stored in the workplace to protect assets and personnel. Flammable liquid storage cabinets play a crucial role in maintaining workplace safety when handling Class 3 flammable liquids. Here, we answer some common questions about how to store flammable liquids in the workplace and how flammable safety cabinets play an important role.

Is There an Australian Standard for Storing Flammable Liquids?

Australian Standards are guidelines, procedures, and specifications for products, services, and systems. They are developed by Standards Australia to ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and consistent.

Australian Standard AS1940:2017 provides requirements and recommendations for the storage and handling of Class 3 flammable liquids. This standard specifies the use of safety cabinets and outlines their recommended construction design, placement in the workplace and safety labelling.

What are Class 3 Flammable Liquids?

Class 3 flammable liquids are specifically defined by the Australian Dangerous Goods Code as substances that possess a flash point of 60°C or lower, categorising them as highly combustible materials. This classification underscores the inherent risks associated with handling such liquids, which can easily ignite and lead to dangerous fire hazards if not managed properly. Common examples include petrol, oil, acetone, paint and adhesives.

What are Flammable Liquid Storage Cabinets?

Flammable Safety Cabinets are dedicated safety storage cabinets specifically for the storage of Class 3 flammable liquids. These cabinets play a vital role in protecting these dangerous goods from igniting in the unfortunate event of a fire. They feature double-walled steel construction with a thermal barrier, which significantly enhances their ability to withstand external heat and prevent internal temperatures from rising dangerously high. Furthermore, their design includes an in-built containment sump to ensure any leaks drips or spills are contained to inside the cabinet.

In accordance with Australian Standard AS1940 flammable cabinets should also feature safety features such as vent ports, self closing doors, perforated shelving to permit free air movement and danger and warning signage applied to the front of the cabinet.

What Size Flammable Liquid Cabinet Do I Need?

A common questions we get about how to store flammable liquids is what size cabinet do I need? It is important to consider both the amount of flammable liquid used in your workplace, the size of containers being stored and your available workshop space. It is important to not overload the cabinet past the labelled maximum storage as the sump will not be capable of fully containing a spill.

Whilst a flammable liquid cabinet may have enough storage for your needs it is also important to check the external dimensions of the cabinet to make sure the profile fits in your designated space.

Lastly measuring the size of your containers is also an important consideration. Our range of flammable cabinets have adjustable shelving to accommodate many types of containers and drums.

Where Should I Place My Flammable Liquid Cabinet?

There are several factors that must be considered when placing a safety cabinet on a worksite. These include:

A location that does not impede escape in an emergency.
Placed away from heat or ignition sources such as open flames, electrical equipment, hot surfaces and out of direct sunlight.
Placed on solid level ground. This ensures stored liquids will not tip, leak or spill on any personnel accessing the cabinet.
A location that is protected from impact from any forklifts or other vehicles.

Additional requirements for cabinets larger than 250L:

Australian Standards also make reccomendations for cabinets larger than 250L capacity. This includes:

Cabinets having a capacity greater than 250 L shall not be installed in residential or accommodation buildings, commercial buildings, hospitals, aged care buildings or school buildings.
They should only be installed on floors that have direct access from street or ground level.
Cabinets with a capacity exceeding 250 litres must be positioned at least 3 metres away from any wall shared with another room. This requirement is crucial unless the wall is constructed of concrete or masonry, extending to the ceiling height or 3 metres above the top of the cabinet, whichever is lower, and also extends 3 metres to either side of the cabinet.

Can Flammable Liquid Cabinets Be Stored Outdoors?

It is important to decide whether goods will be stored indoors or outdoors when deciding how to store flammable liquids. Whilst flammable liquid cabinets are built from heavy duty steel, it is best practice to use a specific outdoor cabinet when storing liquids outdoor and exposed to the elements. Due to the design nature of indoor cabinets, the double wall construction can be more susceptible to corrosion when left in outdoor conditions.

Outdoor flammable liquid safety cabinets have extra safety features to protect against weather, corrosion and traffic damage. This includes such as heavy duty coatings to protect from harmful UV and the ability to provide natural ventilation. The ability to naturally ventilate flammable vapours is important for outdoor cabinets as long periods in the sun can increase the risk of ignition. Click here to view our range of outdoor cabinets.

Flammable Liquid Safety Cabinets From Global Spill & Safety

Our range of flammable safety cabinets are proudly made in Australia and are manufactured to meet all requirements set out in Australian Standard AS1940:2017. They are available in a range of sizes, from smaller 30L through to pallet size 850L storage.

Some key features of Spill Crew safety cabinets are: