Tom,
Good questions to ask.
I am just trying to give you an idea from a code point of view how it looks at flammable and combustible liquid storage. Will you find places that have a lot more liquids then listed above? YEP!, I see it everyday in my job. I have been doing this type of work for 25 years. If I got a dollar for every time I heard someone say to me it has been this way for 20 years or I have always done it this way I would not need a job! I am only the messenger I did not make up the code I am just telling you what it says. Weather my company decides to take a business owner as a client depends on how close they meet the code. Believe it or not some places meet or exceed the code and as a result pay lower insurance premiums. Underwriter will always write an insurance policy IF they can get enough $$ for it. Some insurance companies have lower standards and will write anything, some do not. Some make more $$$ then others too.
DOT regulates the drums when they are in transport not when they are in a building. Buildings MAY come under the control of State and or local Building Codes since they have people in them. I say may because some parts of the USA have no codes that are enforced. As a rule the more populated the area the greater chance a code will come into play. Building codes are designed to keep the building up long for the people to get out. Most building codes reference NFPA or some other code for how to do something. In NJ we use the International Building Code, it is a loose leave binder about 3 inches thick. But it references NFPA codes that contain ten 3 inch binders.
The following is from NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, 2002 edition
So you understand the term flammable and combustible liquids and what these numbers mean this is from NFPA.
3.3.25.2 Flammable Liquid. Any liquid that has a closed-cup flash point below 100°F (37.8°C), as determined by the test procedures and apparatus set forth in 1.7.4. Flammable liquids are classified as Class I as follows: Class I Liquid — any liquid that has a closed-cup flash point below 100°F (37.8°C) and a Reid vapor pressure not exceeding 40 psia (2068.6 mm Hg) at 100°F (37.8°C), as determined by ASTM D 323, Standard Method of Test for Vapor Pressure of Petroleum Products (Reid Method). Class I liquids are further classified as follows: (1) Class IA liquids — those liquids that have flash points below 73°F (22.8°C) and boiling points below 100°F (37.8°C); (2) Class IB liquids — those liquids that have flash points below 73°F (22.8°C) and boiling points at or above 100°F (37.8°C); (3) Class IC liquids — those liquids that have flash points at or above 73°F (22.8°C), but below 100°F (37.8°C).
3.3.25.1 Combustible Liquid. Any liquid that has a closed-cup flash point at or above 100°F (37.8°C), as determined by the test procedures and apparatus set forth in 1.7.4. Combustible liquids are classified as Class II or Class III as follows: (1) Class II Liquid — any liquid that has a flash point at or above 100°F (37.8°C) and below 140°F (60°C); (2) Class IIIA — any liquid that has a flash point at or above 140°F (60°C), but below 200°F (93°C); (3) Class IIIB — any liquid that has a flash point at or above 200°F (93°C).
Here is what it says how much liquid you can have in your home.
6.5.3 Dwellings and Residential Buildings Containing Not More than Three Dwelling Units and Accompanying Attached and Detached Garages. Storage in excess of 95 L (25 gal) of Class I and Class II liquids combined shall be prohibited. In addition, storage in excess of 230 L (60 gal) of Class IIIA liquid shall be prohibited.
So you have a fire, insurance company MAY not pay the claim based on the above. IF it is code in your town and IF the local FD in the fire investigations sites you for this violation.
Why does my new $40,000 dodge diesel also have a plastic fuel tank ??
Under DOT regulations, NFPA code does not include this amount in the above limits.
6.5.4 Assembly Occupancies, Buildings Containing More than Three Dwelling Units, and Hotels. Storage in excess of 38 L (10 gal) of Class I and Class II liquids combined or 230 L (60 gal) of Class IIIA liquids shall be in containers stored in storage cabinets, in safety cans, or in an inside storage area that does not have openings that communicate with that portion of the building used by the public.
As far as the oil storage facility site here is what NFPA says
6.5.2.4* Liquids in Plastic Containers. Class I and Class II liquids in plastic containers shall not be stored in general-purpose warehouses but shall be stored in inside liquid storage areas that meet the requirements of Section 6.4.
For general industry occupancy it says the following
7.5 Incidental Operations.
Incidental operations are operations that utilize liquids only as a limited activity to that which establishes the occupancy classification. Examples include automobile assembly, assembly of electronic equipment, furniture manufacturing, and areas within refineries, distilleries, and chemical plants where the use of liquids is incidental, such as in maintenance shops, office equipment, or vehicle repair shops.
7.5.4 The quantity of liquid located outside of identified storage areas, such as storage cabinets, other inside liquid storage areas, general-purpose warehouses, or other specific processing areas that are cut off from the general plant area by at least a 2-hour fire separation, shall meet the requirements of 7.5.4.1.
7.5.4.1 The aggregate of the sum of all incidental operations in each single fire area shall not exceed the sum of the following:
(1) 95 L (25 gal) of Class IA liquids in containers
(2) 454 L (120 gal) of Class IB, Class IC, Class II, or Class III liquids in containers
(3) 6000 L (1586 gal) of any combination of the following:
(a) Class IB, IC, II, or IIIA liquids in metal portable tanks or metal intermediate bulk containers, each not exceeding 3000 L (793 gal)
(b) Class II or Class IIIA liquids in nonmetallic intermediate bulk containers, each not exceeding 3000 L (793 gal)
(4) 20 portable tanks or intermediate bulk containers each not exceeding 3000 L (793 gal) of Class IIIB liquids
