A fire and explosion occurred at an agricultural‑input storage facility, leaving two dead and several injured. Here are eight key precautions for storing pesticides!

According to the WeChat official account of the Jinxiang County Integrated Media Center in Jining, Shandong Province, at around 9:50 a.m. on August 15, an explosion and fire occurred at an agricultural‑input storage facility in Mamiao Village, Mamiao Town, Jinxiang County. Preliminary on-site investigations indicate that the incident was triggered when villagers felled a tree, igniting overhead power lines. Two people died at the scene, and several others were injured; all the injured have been transported to hospitals for treatment and are not in life‑threatening condition. Relevant authorities and emergency response teams are currently on site handling the situation.

This case serves as a stark warning about the importance of safe storage of agricultural inputs. Safety is paramount; carelessness in the storage of pesticides must be avoided. The following key points should be firmly understood.

1. Thermal insulation

It is important to maintain an appropriate temperature—neither too high nor too low. Most powdered pesticides are susceptible to quality degradation at elevated temperatures. When exposed to excessive heat, these products may melt, decompose, volatilize, or even ignite and explode. Certain emulsifiable concentrates can lose their emulsifying stability and reduced efficacy when subjected to high temperatures, while some bottled liquid pesticides may freeze at low temperatures, forming solid lumps or causing the containers to crack. Such formulations should be stored at room temperature above 1°C.

2. Sealing

When storing pesticides, be sure to implement airtight sealing measures; always tighten the bottle caps securely to ensure a tight seal.

3. Moisture-proof

Powdered pesticides and plant growth regulators are prone to absorbing moisture and caking; storage facilities should be kept dry to prevent dampness. They should also have windows for ventilation, with relative humidity maintained below 75%.

4. Protect from light

Pesticides packaged in brown bottles generally require light‑protected storage. If such pesticides are exposed to sunlight for extended periods, they may decompose, degrade, and lose their efficacy; therefore, they must be kept out of direct sunlight during storage.

5. Classified Storage

Pesticides can be classified, based on their chemical properties, as alkaline, acidic, or neutral. When storing and handling pesticides of different chemical natures, they must be kept separate and maintained at a safe distance from one another; otherwise, chemical reactions may occur, leading to reduced efficacy, degradation, or loss of activity. Additionally, leftover quantities of different pesticides should not be mixed in the same container to prevent deactivation.

6. Safety

When storing pesticides, it is essential to prevent accidents. From a safety standpoint, three key precautions should be observed: First, store them in a dedicated cabinet or wooden crate and lock the container. Second, do not keep pesticides in the same room as grains, oils, beans, seeds, vegetables, food, or animal feed. Third, emulsifiable concentrates and fumigant pesticides must never be stored together with flammable or explosive materials—such as matches, gasoline, motor oil, or firecrackers—and should never be kept indoors, in livestock or poultry sheds, or in their immediate vicinity. Special care should be taken to ensure they are out of reach of children.

7. Environmental Protection

Expired or leftover small quantities of pesticides must not be discarded indiscriminately in fields or at field edges, nor should they be dumped into ponds, streams, or rivers; instead, they should be disposed of by deep burial.

8. Properly store pesticide labels and instruction manuals.

Pesticide labels or instruction manuals typically include the following information: the content of active ingredients; target pests and diseases, application rates, and methods of use; the pre-harvest interval; and precautions. This information must be clearly understood before using the pesticide in the coming year; therefore, it is essential to keep the label and the instruction manual intact. For pesticides whose labels have been lost or are illegible, a new label should be affixed to the container or bag with written details to ensure proper application.

Source: Weijinxiang WeChat official account, Nonghua Investment Promotion Network, and others. Editor of this issue: Song Xi.