There aren’t any regulations that say cabinets need to be a certain color, but most facilities use the following best management practices in regards to color:
- Yellow: Flammable liquids
- Red: Paints, inks and other combustible liquids
- Gray or White: Waste or outdoor lockers
- Blue: Corrosives (acids, bases, oxidizers)
- Green: Pesticides and insecticides
- Silver or Neutral: Laboratory chemicals
If you’re still unsure about whether you need to purchase a flammable cabinet with self-closing doors or if you need to store flammables in a specific colored cabinet, contact your local authority having jurisdiction. Often this is the local fire marshal or code officer.
Now that you know whether your flammable safety cabinet needs self-closing doors and if it needs to be a certain color, you can choose the right safety cabinet. Check out PIG Flammable Safety Cabinets here.
Do you still have questions about flammable cabinets? Leave a comment with your question below or give us a call at 1-800-HOT-HOGS.
4 Comments
shefasays:
10/25/2018 at 4:11 amQ: Do I have to monitor the temperature in side the cabinet? if so how can I do this?
Isabella Andersensays:
04/02/2019 at 10:44 amHi Shefa,
Thanks for your question! Neither OSHA nor the NFPA have a requirement to measure the temperature on the inside of a flammable storage cabinet. However, it’s important to know the flashpoints and flammability ranges of the liquids that will be stored inside your cabinets and to place them in areas away from open flames or other heat sources that could cause vapors to ignite.
Thanks,
Isabella
Timsays:
04/30/2019 at 9:24 amWhat do you mean by this statement? “Some municipalities in other states selectively require flammable safety cabinets to be fitted with self-closing doors to comply with safety regulations” My State of Iowa is on this list. Do you mean some cities and towns may have a requirement through the AHJ for self-closing cabinets? Thank You.
Isabella Andersensays:
07/02/2019 at 12:13 pmHi there, thanks for your question! OSHA’s flammable liquids regulation and NFPA 30 apply nationwide. Some states and local municipalities have chosen to adopt additional NFPA standards such as NFPA 1 to supplement the national requirements. In states that have chosen to adopt NFPA 1 in addition to the national requirements, self-closing doors are required on flammable storage cabinets [NFPA 1, 60.1.1.12(d)]. Iowa is one of those states. Other states have chosen to let local municipalities decide whether to adopt the additional standards. This is common in states where manufacturing may be prevalent in one or two cities, but sparse in other areas of the state.
If your state or municipality has incorporated one of these additional standards into their requirements, the AHJ would simply be enforcing that requirement. Remember, however, that the AHJ does have final say. He or she knows the local codes, conditions and vulnerabilities that exist in and around your facility. If he or she has visited your facility and determined that self-closing doors are necessary to reduce risk, treat it as a requirement – just as if it was written in a federal, state or local regulation.
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