Ten Ways to Spot a Defective Pallet | Environmental Health & Safety (2024)

FAQs

Ten Ways to Spot a Defective Pallet | Environmental Health & Safety? ›

Look for the IPPC stamp on the side of the wood to determine how it was treated. Pallets marked with an “HT” were heat-treated and did not come into contact with chemicals during the treating process. Avoid unmarked pallets or those stamped with an “MB” for methyl bromide.

Look for the IPPC stamp on the side of the wood to determine how it was treated. Pallets marked with an “HT” were heat-treated and did not come into contact with chemicals during the treating process. Avoid unmarked pallets or those stamped with an “MB” for methyl bromide.

Spot rotted wood by looking at the colour, and condition of the boards. They will often take on a darker color and may start to splinter. Placing heavy loads onto these pallets is not safe. If they are not repaired quickly, the wood can splinter and break at any time.

They can present a number of hazards to both employees and equipment, ranging from minor puncture wounds, cuts and abrasions to broken bones and irreparable machinery. It is important that pallets are always handled with care, whether they're empty or loaded, and you should always be aware of any potential dangers.

Pallets must be positioned in a stable manner to avoid collapse or sliding when stacking goods on it. Avoid keeping stacked pallets in high traffic areas. Stack pallets up to 15 feet high, however, this will depend on the type of goods you stored on them. Do not stack products only on one side of the pallet.

Inspect the top surface of the pallet for debris. Scan for protruding nails and flatten them. Measure the dimensions of the pallet and ensure dimensional tolerances are acceptable.

English: Two pallets showing markings required under the ISPM 15 regulations. US is from the USA, GT is from Guatemala. Both pallets have been heat-treated (HT as indicated).

Markings on Unsafe Pallets

Markings to look out for include MB, which indicates that the wood has undergone treatment with the toxic chemical methyl bromide. A pallet may also be unsafe if it has the letters EUR but not EPAL as well.

Heat treated pallets are often referred to as HT pallets, yet the concept remains the same: heat treatment is a method of sterilizing the wood to remove all hazardous materials, thereby making the pallets safer and better suited for shipment.

What are the risks of damaged pallets? ›

Damaged pallets can be extremely dangerous and can cause large columns of products to shift and even fall. This poses a risk to both your employees and products.

What Are FDA Approved Pallets? An FDA pallet is usually blue, although they can also come in black, gray, red, green, yellow and beige, and must be made using virgin plastic resin. No recycled plastic can be used due to the possibility of contaminating the food chain with unknown chemicals or solvents.

A stable base is crucial to prevent stack toppling during transport. Don't reuse damaged pallets: Damaged pallets pose risks, including stack tip-overs and worker injuries. Discard pallets with splintering wood, chipped edges, or protruding nails. Replace damaged pallets promptly.

If you don't see an IPPC logo then you know not to use it. While a pallet may be perfectly safe without the logo, it could also mean it was treated with chemicals. Another issue is what has spilled on the pallet. I'd be careful, personally, about oily pallets or ones that have clearly had something spilled on them.

The most common injuries around pallets are when workers trip over them or step or fall on them. Sometimes employees will step on a wooden pallet for support to reach something up high.

The treatment designation that you should be the most cautious of is "MB." This stands for Methyl Bromide. Pallets with an MB stamp have been treated with a highly toxic pesticide which can be necessary in certain regions of the world where there are pests that can't be eliminated by heat treatments.

If you don't see an IPPC logo then you know not to use it. While a pallet may be perfectly safe without the logo, it could also mean it was treated with chemicals. Another issue is what has spilled on the pallet. I'd be careful, personally, about oily pallets or ones that have clearly had something spilled on them.

That's a good question. Heat-treated pallets are safe to burn because they have not been chemically treated. In order to know if it is safe to burn, look to see if has been stamped with MB, which stands for Methyl-Bromide. If it has been stamped, it is not safe to burn.

Pallet Markings

Once you've found a clean pallet in good condition, the next thing is to check for markings. If a pallet is unmarked, it generally means that it's a 'national' pallet used within a particular country. The wood in these is generally untreated but may still be safe to use.