Recently I visited a local automotive body shop in my area in the western suburbs of Chicago, while I waited for my car to be detailed I decided to go for a walk around the garage area which is normally not allowed. During my stroll I noticed things that seemed out of place which sparked my curiosity.

   You may ask yourself why someone would be interested in such things but you would have to go back in time to events that happened in my childhood to get a clear understanding.  See when I was younger my uncle owned a plastic injection molding company and he always was trying to side step what the city officials wanted of him. I remember working there as a young teenager and asking my father why my uncle was doing certain things that seemed strange. My father always said that my uncle would spend more time and money trying to avoid doing the right thing than the cost of doing what was asked of him originally.

My uncle grew up in the post depression era which was all about saving money and he would put flammable containers under empty boxes that appeared to be filled with product. He believed that the government needed to stay out of his business and worry about their own problems, not to mention the cost savings of not buying proper containers.  As years went on I remember speaking to my uncle about this matter and his response was that he spent 30 years of his life worrying about the possibility of one day an inspector uncovering his hiding of chemicals in improper containers. He went on to say that if he were to be caught doing that violation it would have cost him his business especially if an incident would have occurred as a result of his negligence.

Safety cabinets come in all different sizes, colors and with different features. Some cabinets can run a shop under $400 it’s really dependant on your particular needs. In addition OSHA “The Occupational and Safety Health Department” has clearly set its goals that violators will be fined severely for putting the environment as well people in jeopardy to chemical and fire hazards.  It’s important for a business that uses chemicals to estimate how many gallons of products they need to store prior to buying a cabinet.