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Drum Handling in ATEX Environments

Drum Handling in ATEX Environments

Operating in areas with explosive environments presents a range of significant challenges, none more so than when drums contain flammable liquids or powders. Risk is of course minimised while drums are securely sealed, but it increases dramatically once they are opened. This is why it is important to ensure that you have equipment that complies with the ATEX Directive and is appropriate for the zone in which you are operating.

We are a globally renowned choice for high-specification drum handling solutions. We manufacture a range of products that are suitable for use in areas (link to zone resource) where explosive conditions exist. Whether you need to move, tip, mix or lift drums, our team will be able to source the right equipment for your operations (link to compliance resource).

Equipment Selection for Moving Hazardous Drums

Moving and transporting drums at ground level presents significant risks due to improper manual handling techniques. Common unsafe practices include churning drums (rolling them on their bottom edge) or sliding drums across the floor, which not only poses risks to safety but can also damage the drum’s integrity.

Our range of ATEX drum trolleys and dollies reduce risk by facilitating safe and effortless transportation of drums across flat, level ground.

Our most popular product, the stainless steel Universal Drum Trolley features a unique mechanism that makes drum movement easy and safe. Its design allows wheels to pivot under the drum's centre of gravity, reducing lifting effort and improving safety.

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Equipment Selection for Lifting Hazardous Drums

Lifting drums on and off pallets or bunds is a frequent challenge when handling hazardous materials. Manually lifting drums without the aid of specialised equipment is not only unsafe but also prone to causing injuries such as entrapment injuries, impact injuries and musculoskeletal disorders.

Preventing injuries is easy if the correct drum lifting equipment is used. We have a huge range of manual-hydraulic Drum Lifting Depalletisers, all of which can be certified for use in ATEX areas.

Our most popular model is the Counterbalanced Drum Lifter, mainly because it has no outlying legs making it great for use in both compact and more roomy spaces alike. The hydraulic hand pump allows drums to be lifted on and off pallets and bunds whilst keeping operator input loads within the UK manual handling guidelines.

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Equipment Selection for Tipping Hazardous Drums

Emptying and decanting from drums is one of the most common activities we come across when speaking with our customers. The requirement to both lift drums to height and rotate them poses challenges, particularly when drums can be supplied in many different shapes and sizes, from steel 200-litre drums to small 60-litre plastic drums.

For operators who don’t have dedicated drum tipping equipment available, they typically end up lifting drums by hand with two or three team members, hugely exceeding manual handling load limits. Alternatively, they resort to pushing drums over onto the forks of a forklift truck. This method can lead to an ignition should the drum create a spark when hitting the floor/forks. In addition, there is an added risk of the drum falling through the gap in the forks when lifted to height.

Drum lifting and decanting requirements can be satisfied using our ATEX manual-hydraulic and ATEX pneumatic-hydraulic drum tipping models. The most ATEX popular model we supply is our Pneumatic-Hydraulic Universal Drum Rotator. This model can be upgraded with additional powered features for those handling a high volume of drums.

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Equipment Selection for Mixing Hazardous Drums

The mixing of raw materials inside industrial drums to ensure homogeneity is typically carried out before the raw materials are used within a secondary process. This mixing process is difficult to achieve without specialist equipment. Traditionally crude methods have been used such as rolling drums on their sides or using make-shift rollers, however, in the modern era specialist ATEX drum mixing machines are available for this exact process.

At STS we have a fully certified ATEX Electric Drum Mixer as part of our product offering. Operators lift drums into the mixing head using a drum lifter and then secure it in position. Once the drum has been secured, the gates are closed, and the mixing can be started. The caged design ensures operators are kept safe, well away from all moving parts. For certain applications, a quick 5-minute mix is all that is required, for more viscous products a longer mixing cycle may be required.

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What is ATEX Certification?

Established in 2003 by the European Union, the ATEX Directive established regulations to protect employees and communities from risks related to explosive atmospheres. The directive has now become widely recognised outside of Europe as a critical standard for managing environments where flammable and explosive conditions exist.

What are ATEX zones?

The ATEX Directive classifies zones which detail the likelihood and duration of the presence of explosive atmospheres. These are:

Zone 0: An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere is present continuously or for long periods.
Zone 1: An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation.
Zone 2: An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere is not likely to occur in normal operation and, if it occurs, will only exist for a short time.
Zone 20: An area in which an explosive dust atmosphere is present continuously or for long periods.
Zone 21: An area in which an explosive dust atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation.
Zone 22: An area in which an explosive dust atmosphere is not likely to occur in normal operation and, if it occurs, will only exist for a short time.

Additional Resources

If you need more information regarding drum handling safety in your workplace, please check out our full guide.

ATEX requirements in the workplace (Link to resource)
Challenges of Drum Handling in ATEX Environments (Link to resource)

Other useful links regarding ATEX equipment, can be found here: