Office of Safety, Health & Environment


Petroleum & Flammable Material Storage Requirements in NUS

1 Introduction

Under the Fire Safety Act and Fire Safety (Petroleum & Flammables Materials, P&FM) Regulations 2005; SCDF regulates import, transport and storage of P&FM. Anyone who intends to import, transport or store P&FM is required to obtain a licence from SCDF. Kindly refer to Safety Data Sheet (SDS) of the chemical or gas to determine if it is flammable. Most SDS will identify if the chemical or gas has a flammable property.

2 P&FM Licensing Requirements in NUS  

Under the licensing conditions, NUS laboratories are allowed to use and store P&FM, it is advisable that departments should minimize purchase and storage of P&FM, wherever possible and ensure the quantity of P&FM is always maintained within the permissible limit - Maximum Allowable Quantity (MAQ). The MAQ is a measure implemented by SCDF to prevent the overstocking of PFM in the laboratory. The MAQ is prescribed by a qualified person (QP) and subsequently approved by SCDF.

The methodology used by QP to calculate the MAQ of NUS laboratories can be found here.

3 What NUS researchers need to do?

Researchers need to inventorise their PFM in the electronic Laboratory Materials Management System (LMMS) to facilitate compliance with licensing conditions. OSHE will conduct periodic inspections and audits to ensure the appropriate management and storage of PFM in laboratories. Researchers may use the PFM Compliance Checklist to conduct internal checks on their PFM storage.

 

The PFM Compliance Checklist can be found here listing

Flowchart for Petroleum & Flammable Materials Storage in NUS

The PFM Declaration Form can be found here listing
4 Useful References
 

Information on PFM Storage Licence by SCDF