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Storing Petrol
Petrol is highly flammable and is one of the most hazardous substances that we use. Because it is so easily ignited, you must handle it with great care.
As well as being flammable, petrol is poisonous. If you accidentally swallow petrol, call a doctor at once. Do not induce vomiting. If you get petrol in your eyes, flush with water for at least 15 minutes and call a doctor. Petrol on your skin may not initially appear to be a problem, but prolonged or repeated liquid contact can lead to irritation or dermatitis. Breathing petrol fumes is dangerous. Exposure to vapour concentrations can cause respiratory irritation, headache, dizziness, nausea and loss of coordination. Higher concentrations may cause loss of consciousness, cardiac sensitisation, coma and death resulting from respiratory failure. Petroleum vapour can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, and exposure to high concentrations, particularly in confined spaces, can cause dizziness and unconsciousness.
Most importantly, never swallow petrol or diesel or attempt to use the mouth to siphon it. This can result in it entering the lungs or stomach, which can be fatal.
You need to be extra careful if you’re planning to store petrol. WorkSafe have an excellent site in which you should find most of your answers.
Storing Diesel
While diesel is not a particularly flammable substance, it is an environmental hazard with considerable clean-up costs if it should leak into a drain, watercourse or the soil.
Diesel is a hazardous substance and two grades of diesel fuel are approved for use in New Zealand:
• automotive gas oil and marine diesel • low flash point diesel
For simplicity, both are treated as flammable liquids, low hazard.
In addition, diesel may be blended with biodiesel in quantities up to 99 percent biodiesel. The biodiesel is non-hazardous but the blends are treated as flammable liquids, low hazard. As a flammable liquid, low hazard diesel will burn, but not as easily as a flammable liquid, such as petrol.
While storing diesel is the most common and relatively simple compared to petrol, there are a number of factors that need considering so click this link which you’ll find very helpful then give one of our guys a call and we’ll make your installation simple.
Blog article by Praneel Lal
