Design of facility for Outdoor Fuel Storage (in barrels)

[caluna]

Hello,

One of our client departments stores about 200-45 gal barrels of fuel outside: barrels are aviation fuel, diesel or gasoline, and these barrels are loaded into trucks and taken to various location for use on helicopters, planes and vehicles (used for fire fighting out in the bush). Right now the fuel barrels are stored on wooden deck at truck height and rolled onto trucks. No containment. To bring up to code we need a 6 in berm and containment as per NFC and NFPA, etc.,and ensure fuel is stored in piles according to its class. Client wants to keep the deck idea but I was thinking it would be much easier (and save the cost of building new deck) to keep barrels at ground level (inside the berm, with geotextile and sand/gravel) and have ramp to roll them up or transport them (preferably upright, so no bung leakage) over berm and onto truck. I have never encountered this before and am wondering what would be the best way to design it? Thank you.

 

[BigInch]

Outside the actual design details, perhaps there is another driver; I think they might need the fuel to be loaded quickly enough that there may not be time or personnal available for rolling barrels around. Supposedly everybody has been working long hours fighting fires and the last thing they need to be expending any remaining precious energy of able-bodied personnal rolling barrels uphill.

If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?" - Seymour Cray (1925-1996), father of supercomputing
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[caluna]

Yes, that is true! I should find out exactly how many they move at a time, (it is not many-not dozens..they use 400 barells total per season, and there is a limit as to how many you can get at one time in a small plane or helicopter!) and whether the same people who move them are those who go to fight the fires..

There is also the cost constraint.. We cannot reuse the existing wooden deck (and also have to allow for any remediation of existing soil). A steel or concrete deck would be a large expense. Wondering if a forklift or other barrel-transporting device would be better investment for them- they could use for other tasks in the compound too...

I imagine there are facilities like this in other locations (we are in Northern Canada) but we don't have any idea how they are designed..

 

[BigInch]

Barrels are often placed on racks for roll-on/roll-off loading. Once rolled onto the truck, they only need to be rolled into position and tipped upright for transport. Perhaps the rack only needs to contain a small number of barrels at any given time, those that they will need to load quickly, and the rest can be stored behind an (earthern?) berm on a lined concrete apron with containment curb.

If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?" - Seymour Cray (1925-1996), father of supercomputing
***************

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[caluna]

That sounds like a great idea, the racks! Thanks!

 

[5689]

Hello Caluna and Big Inch,

I do work at the DFO in Quebec region in the environment compliance team. For our remote site for jet fuel barrel we use a concrete pad with curb or a membrane with gravel on it; both with a rolling rack for the barrels. We deliver the barrels by helicopter from a ship to the on land site. Also when fueling helicopters from this site we will our SOP with the use of a portable containment under the helicopter when fueling.

thanks

 

[BigInch]

5689,

Exactly what I had in mind.

We talked about double walled pipe a long time ago. Please see, thread481-161805


"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
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[caluna]

Re: the fuel barrels; Client wants them stored horizontally in single layer-no racks- as they are loaded unloaded by labourers who presumably roll drums. Client has found less barrel damage that way-apparently pilots do not want aviation fuel barrels which are dented. (I was worried about bung losses while storing the drums horizontally..)
Client does not have and does not want to get/use forklift, rolliong rack or drum lifter, but is ken to have deck which will have to be inside containment..
Yes, thanks, we decided against the doublewall pipe! Someone was trying to second-guess a code change..

 

[BigInch]

Well so much for good ideas.

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
***************

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[caluna]

Yes the rolling racks sounded great. The whole "rolling drums around by hand" thing sounds like it will encourage leakage and injured toes and hands..
The only practical material for a deck left after eliminating wood and metal is concrete and that will be pricey, when combined with a containment system below..

We are just going to suggest an entire list of options, including the "on ground" options as well as the decked options, and they can take to a consultant..

 

[caluna]

hi 5689,

I have a number of questions..

So are your barrels are stored on racks (which are at ground level) and inside containment berm? Do the barrels sit horizontally or vertically in the racks? Are they only one row high??How do staff physically get barrels onto the racks from helicopter-are they rolled or pushed by hand? What sort of pottable containment do you use?-is it something like the flexible portable black "plastic" berms?
etc. Thanks!

 

[5689]

hi caluna,

We store our barel horizontaly on racks with metal ramp above ground level to avoid corrosion. We roll them by hand. On some site the racks are on a concrete pad and we are at installing membrane with gravel rocks over it on site where we have no containment for oils transfert/storing barrels (cost less this way). The portable containment is like this

http://www.spillcontainment.com/products/spill_response/popup.htm

and we will include is use in our new SOP, standard operation procedure.

 

[JLSeagull]

Manual handling of barrels, drums and cylinders is hazardous work that leads to many accidents and incidents. Consider using specially designed hand-trucks for handling barrels. Small delivery trucks can use rear lift gates for lifting. Encourage the client to consider the safe handling and lifting in addition to the fuel hazards.

 

[Daianto]

Hello,
Caluna here.. Could not sign in as me for some reason..
Our client does have some sort of drum management scheme but it is very skimpy on saftey details. They do not want to have drum lifters or other mechanical or power aids-bear in mind their sites are often remote, out in the bush. The trucks which deliver may be semi's but the trucks onto which they load the barrels are just pickup trucks..