I have written extensively on flammable liquids and the hazards they present to work environments; but there is one hazard associated with using plastic containers for flammable liquids that tends to be lost in all the attention that is focused on what is happening within the containers and not outside the container. In this article I reveiw a MUST READ report titled Plastic containers for flammable liquids/hazardous areas – Electrostatic risks prepared by the Health and Safety Laboratory for the Health and Safety Executive in 2010. I will touch on the hazards that plastic containers present to a work environment REGARDLESS of what they are filled with, with a focus on static charges that are being generated on the OUTSIDE of the plastic containers. Bottom Line… These plastic containers can NOT be presumed in their present form to be inherently safe for use in flammable atmospheres!