Safety of packaging, storage and transportation of

Safety of chemical packaging, storage and transportation (1)

due to the flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive and other dangerous characteristics of a considerable part of chemicals, improper handling in the process of packaging, transportation and storage is very likely to cause accidents, which may affect production, cause economic losses, or cause casualties and serious environmental pollution. With the increase of chemical production and the expansion of the scope of use, there are more and more accidents and hazards caused by improper packaging, storage and transportation of chemicals. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the packaging, storage and transportation of chemicals is of great significance to strengthen the safety management of chemicals and avoid major disasters

1.1 chemical packaging

the packaging of industrial products is an indispensable part of modern industry. A product generally goes through many processes of loading, unloading, storage and transportation from production to users. In this process, the products will inevitably be impacted, dropped, impacted and vibrated. A good package will protect the products well, reduce the damage during transportation, and make the products reach the users safely. This is particularly important for hazardous chemicals. If the packaging method is appropriate, the accident rate in storage and transportation will be reduced. If the market revenue of discoloration coating and ink is expected to reach 2billion US dollars, it may lead to major accidents. For example, in January, 1997, a serious chlorine leakage accident occurred in Pakistan. When a truck was transporting bottled chlorine, due to the turbulence of the vehicle, the liquid chlorine cylinder was violently impacted, causing the cylinder body to rupture, resulting in a large number of chlorine leakage, causing many deaths and poisoning accidents. After inspection, the material of the steel cylinder seriously did not meet the requirements, leaving hidden dangers for transportation safety. On the contrary, in the early morning of March 18, 1997, a large truck loaded with 1 ton and 200 barrels of highly toxic sodium cyanide in Guangxi turned into the Guijiang River in Guizhou city, China. Due to tight packaging, timely salvage and no damage to the packaging, a serious leakage pollution accident was avoided. Therefore, chemical packaging is the basis of chemical storage and transportation safety. Therefore, all departments and enterprises pay more and more attention to the packaging of hazardous chemicals, constantly improve the packaging of hazardous chemicals, and develop new packaging materials to continuously improve the packaging quality of hazardous chemicals. The state has also continuously strengthened the supervision of packaging and formulated a series of relevant standards to make the packaging of chemicals more standardized

1.1.1 packaging classification and packaging performance test

according to the structural strength and protective performance of the packaging and the degree of danger of the contents, the packaging of dangerous goods is divided into three categories:

class I packaging: the goods are relatively dangerous, and the packaging strength requirements are high

class II packaging: the goods are of medium risk and the requirements for packaging strength are high

class III packaging: the goods have little danger and the requirements for packaging strength are general

the general technical conditions for transport packaging of dangerous goods (GB) stipulates four test methods for dangerous goods packaging, namely stacking test, drop test, air tightness test and hydraulic test

stacking test: put 200000 tons of lithium mica concentrate in Yichun Area of Jiangxi Province on the top of the test package with a hard load plate, place heavy objects on the plate, and observe whether the stacking is stable and whether the package is deformed and damaged under a certain stacking height (3 meters by land and 8 meters by sea) and a certain time (i.11. Deformation rate conditioning error: 24 hours like ± 1% of the set value a)

drop test: drop the package according to different drop directions and heights, and observe whether the package is damaged and leaked. For example, the falling direction of the steel barrel is: for the first time, the convex edge of the barrel is impacted on the ground in an oblique line; if there is no convex edge, it is impacted at the joint between the barrel body and the barrel bottom. The second time, the weakest place that was not tested in the first time, such as longitudinal weld, closed mouth, etc

air tightness test: immerse the package into the water, inflate and pressurize the package, and observe whether there are bubbles. Figure 4 thin wall design solution is produced, or apply soap or other suitable liquids on the bucket joints or other places prone to leakage, and then inflate and pressurize the package to observe whether there are bubbles

hydraulic test: according to different packaging types, select different pressures to pressurize for 5min, and observe whether the packaging is damaged. For example, for acid resistant jars and ceramic jars, the selection pressure of class I packaging is 250kPa, the pressure of class II packaging is 200KPa, and the pressure of class III packaging is 200KPa

the package containing chemicals must be inspected by the designated department and can be used only after meeting the relevant test standards

1.1.2 basic requirements for packaging

1 The transportation package of dangerous goods shall be reasonable in structure, with certain strength and good protective performance. The material, type, specification, method and single piece weight (weight) of the package shall be compatible with the nature and purpose of the dangerous goods loaded, and shall be convenient for loading, unloading, transportation and storage

2. The package shall be of good quality, and its structure and sealing form shall be able to withstand various operation risks under normal transportation conditions, without any leakage (scattering) due to changes in temperature, humidity or pressure. The package surface shall be clean, and harmful hazardous substances are not allowed to adhere

3. If necessary, the parts in direct contact with the contents of the package should have internal coating or protective treatment. The packaging material should not react with the contents to form dangerous products or weaken the strength of the package

4. The inner container should be fixed. If it is fragile, the liner material or absorbent material suitable for the nature of the contents shall be used, and the liner shall be solid

5. The container containing liquid shall be able to withstand the internal pressure generated under normal transportation conditions. There must be enough expansion allowance (reserved volume) during filling. Unless otherwise specified, it should be ensured that the liquid inside will not completely fill the container at the temperature of 55 ℃

6. The package shall be sealed tightly, liquid tight or air tight according to the nature of the contents

7. When containing substances that need to be soaked or added with stabilizers, the closed form of the container shall effectively ensure that the percentage of liquid (water, solvent and stabilizer) contained in it is kept within the specified range during storage and transportation

8. The design and installation of the exhaust hole of the package with pressure reducing device shall be able to prevent the leakage of the contents and the entry of external impurities, and the amount of gas discharged shall not cause danger and environmental pollution

9. The inner container and outer package of the composite package shall be closely fitted, and the outer package shall not have projections that scratch the inner container

10. Whether new packaging, reusable packaging, or repaired packaging should meet the requirements of the performance test of dangerous goods transportation packaging

11. Additional requirements for the packaging of explosives:

(1) the closed form of the container containing liquid explosives should have dual protection against leakage

(2) except that the inner packaging can fully prevent explosives from contacting with metal objects, iron nails and other metal parts without protective coating shall not penetrate the outer packaging

(3) steel drums, metal drums or metal lined packaging boxes with double crimping joints should be able to prevent explosives from entering the gap. The closing device of steel or aluminum barrels must have appropriate gaskets

(4) the explosive substances and articles in the package, including the inner container, must be properly padded and must not be moved dangerously during transportation

(5) for explosives containing electric initiating devices sensitive to external electromagnetic radiation, the packaging should have the function of preventing the contents from being affected by external electromagnetic radiation sources

(to be continued)