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Key Takeaways:
- In Title 40 of the United States Code of Regulation, the EPA outlines a set of rules and regulations for building secondary containments around tanks or external liners containing hazardous materials.
- A secondary containment is a system that acts as a second line of defense for a tank that contains hazardous material.
- Your secondary containment unit must have an integrated leak-detection system that informs you whenever there’s a leak of hazardous gas or liquid.
In Title 40 of the United States Code of Regulation, the EPA outlines a set of rules and regulations for building secondary containments around tanks or external liners that contain hazardous materials. If you plan to store hazardous or toxic substances in a tank on your premises, you must follow these requirements carefully.
What Is a Secondary Containment and Why Does Your Company Need One?
Secondary containment is a system that acts as a second line of defense for a tank that contains hazardous material. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines hazardous material as any substance or chemical that can cause harm to living organisms when discharged or accidentally released into the surrounding environment.
The EPA has secondary containment requirements for two types of hazardous materials containers: portable storage containers, such as 55-gallon drums, and large stationary tanks for hazardous waste.
This organization’s definition of secondary containment systems does not include extra lines of defense around portable storage containers, including spill containment barriers and booms. If you’re looking for a secure portable container, consider using UN-certified shipping barrels. You will also need to invest in UN Hazmat-approved shipping materials when transporting chemically reactive and dangerous materials in a shipment.
If you have an underground storage tank (UST) that holds hazardous material, you’re required by federal law to have a secondary containment system in place. If you have an aboveground storage tank (AST) that holds hazardous material, follow the EPA’s requirements under the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Rule (SPCC). Many states also have separate guidelines when it comes to adding secondary containment systems onto your ASTs.
A Guide to the Core Secondary Containment Requirements
The EPA outlines four key requirements for building a secondary containment system correctly. These rules relate to any tank system that contains an officially regulated hazardous substance.
1. System must be lined with suitable materials.
The EPA states that when you build a secondary containment system, the materials that come into direct contact with the hazardous substances in the tank must be chemically compatible with this substance.
If you pick an incompatible material to line the walls of your containment, it will react with the hazardous chemical or matter to create flammable and explosive vapors. A steel compliant safety can is an excellent example of a protective container constructed with chemically inert and stable material.
You must also construct your system with durable, weather-resistant materials.
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2. Tank must be on a solid foundation.
Legally, you must also ensure you’re installing your hazardous material tank on top of a highly supportive and durable base unit. Doing this ensures that the tank and its secondary containment system can resist pressure gradients in the surrounding air and within the hazardous fluid. Steep pressure gradients can lead to a compression of hazardous material, resulting in a dangerous leakage from the tank.
3. Secondary containment unit must include a leak-detection system.
Your secondary containment unit must have an integrated leak-detection system that informs you whenever there’s a leak of hazardous gas or liquid. You must invest in a system that notifies you of a leak within 24 hours of it occurring because this allows you to take appropriate steps to limit the adverse effects of the leak as quickly as possible.
4. Secondary containment unit must have an integrated drainage system.
The EPA also states that your secondary containment unit needs to have a built-in drainage system. This means that when the leak-detection system informs you of spillage, you can remove this waste quickly and easily from the unit without having to come into direct contact with it yourself. In most instances, you’re legally required to remove leaked waste within 24 hours of the spillage occurring.
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Specific Guidelines for Liners, Vaults and Double-Walled Tanks
The EPA outlines a set of more rigorous rules for owners of external liners, vaults, double-walled tanks and any other approved device. If you fall under one of these categories, consult the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, found in Title 40 CFR 264.193(e) of the government’s 2011 authenticated report on secondary containment requirements.
Here’s a run-down of the regulations you’ll need to adhere to if you’re building a secondary containment tank for your external liner unit:
- If the external liner surrounds more than one tank, it must be designed to contain 100% of the capacity of the largest tank.
- Your secondary containment system must be constructed with impermeable material so that rainwater isn’t seeping into the container. If that’s not possible, you’ll need to build a secondary containment unit that has enough capacity to hold the same amount of precipitation that you’d get in a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event.
- Your secondary containment system must be weather-resistant and sealed, with no cracks or holes in its construction.
- The secondary unit needs to surround the external liner tank to prevent dangerous lateral migration of waste in the event of a leak.
Looking For a Safe Way to Dispense Flammable Liquids? Use a Steel Compliant Safety Can
Meet Your Secondary Containment Requirements and Prevent Dangerous Leaks
Whether you own an underground storage tank containing hazardous material or an aboveground unit containing chemicals that could cause serious harm to living organisms if released into the environment, you should construct a secondary containment unit.
Make sure you’re following the requirements outlined by the EPA. If you don’t, you’ll break the law and risk facing a considerable fine or a prison sentence.
