Biodiesel methanol storage? ?

[tallgraham]

Hi . hope someone can help, apologise if this is in the wrong section.

 

My neighbour makes biodiesel,

never really bothered me,

until today when my wife told me he had 4 barrels of methanol delivered on two pallets,

looked online and confirmed they aer 205litres each, delivered by a big truck ,

 

thing is, we live in a small cul de sac on a housing estate,

his garage joins mine, he has extended behind my garage,

and its next to a kids play park and a footpath away from my house.

 

Surely there must be a limit on how much you can store at home?

 

As I said it never bothered me until today,

 

but that's an awful lot of flammable liquid.

 

Any ideas who I should contact?

Thanks in advance

 

Graham

Edited May 30, 2014 by tallgraham
spelling

[Conniff]

Is diesel covered by the DSEAR Regulations?

 

The DSEAR regulations[11] do not normally regard diesel fuel as a dangerous substance.

 

This is because its flashpoint is fairly high and therefore not considered as a flammable substance

within the meaning of the CHIP regulations (DSEAR uses the definitions in CHIP to define dangerous substances).

 

The flashpoint of diesel is much higher that the normal ambient temperatures experienced in GB.

 

However,

if diesel fuel or the vessel in which it is contained is heated to a point beyond its flashpoint (about 60°C or140°F ), then it is covered by DSEAR.

 

Thus, for example, hot-work (welding or cutting etc) should not be undertaken on a tank or container

which contains diesel until the tank or container has been completely emptied

and gas-freed as otherwise there is a serious risk of a fire or explosion.

 

In some respects, diesel leaks and spills present more of a hazard to the environment than health and safety.

 

You may therefore wish to contact your local Environmental Agency office to obtain details of any environmental legislation covering diesel.

[silverfox1961]

Hi

methanol is flammable and as such the environment agency should be informed.

 

Here is a factsheet on methanol.

 

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/hpawebfile/hpaweb_c/1194947364086

[dx100uk]

urm I think at that quantity he is obliged to inform the local fire brigade too I think

 

if the petroleum mixing licence laws apply

 

he can only store 30lbs. as well ?

[f16]

You could also contact your local fire station

[dx100uk]

BANG!!

 

dx

[tallgraham]

I also am guessing with that amount of methanol, he'll be exceeding the 2500litre yearly production for taxation purposes!

I have emailed the environment agency, though will ring Monday.

My other issue is I occasionally use a grinder and welder in my garage, don't like the idea of all of that next to me.

This would also explain why he wanted to extend his garage over his driveway, no room left in his, it's a shared driveway and I objected to it.

[king12345]

Can you ask him how much he sells the diesel for?

 

 

Just kidding, I'm sure he needs some sort of permit which would include h&s measures.

[labrat]

you dont need a permit but are supposed to be safety checked

 

820l is ALOT of methanol

[stu007]

Hi

 

This link may be of use read from 1.7: http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageExcise_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000205&propertyType=document#P71_4549

 

This link from SEPA (click the SEPA Guidance for Small Scale Biodiesel Manufacture its an automatic PDF download):

http://www.sepa.org.uk/system_pages/search.aspx?q=biodiesel

Edited June 1, 2014 by stu007