What is hazardous Material And classification of hazardous material
A hazardous material is an item that can cause harm to humans
and the surrounding environment. Hazardous materials have the capacity to
injure employees. It is required for employers to eliminate the hazard or
mitigate the risk of worker exposure by EHS professionals.
There are different kinds of severe hazards out
there. chemical hazardous material classified as flammable, reactive, or
detrimental to the health of the worker, can result in an impact that is either
life-threatening or fatal.
WHAT is NFPA?
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
is a US-based international non-profit organization devoted to eliminating
death, injury, property, and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related
hazards.
The NFPA publishes more than 300 consensus standards that are intended to minimize the risks.
History of NFPA diamond
The Charlotte Fire Department was dispatched to a
Charlotte Chemical Company during the demolition process In the summer of 1959.
The crews found a bulky vat of materials that were left near the basement and
there was a fire burning within the vat. The firefighters assumed that kerosene
was burning, & made the decision to apply foam. The vat exploded.
In that explosion, 13 firefighters were injured very badly
and another later committed suicide from his injuries.
It was later discovered that in the earlier months heavy
rains had penetrated the exposed vat which contained metallic sodium sealed in
kerosene. The sodium and water reacted because of that kerosene start the fire
within the vat. During this time period, vats were not labelled with what types
of materials were enclosed so the firefighters had no way of knowing how they
control the fire. Later, Fire Marshall J. F. Morris developed a system that
would properly mark when a building contained hazardous materials.
The system was a diamond-shaped label containing 4 boxes
for the identification of the hazards of materials for emergency response. Later
the system would be adopted by theNational Fire Protection Agency as Standard 704.
NFPA Diamond or NFPA 704
NFPA-704 is a standard system that helps personals to reliably
and quickly identify the risks associated with hazardous materials so that the
personals would know how to properly handle the material.
It is made up of
four smaller color-coded diamonds that make up one large diamond shape. Each
color-coded section of blue, red, yellow, and white represents a different type
of hazard.
Red color: Flammabilit
Blue color: Health hazard
Yellow color: Reactivity or instability
White color: special hazard
Red blue and yellow parts are rated on a scale of 0-4. The highest number on scale four means severe-hazard and the lowest number on scale zero mean no-hazard. In the white part, a different symbol is used for special hazards.
|
Rating Number |
Hazard blue |
Hazard red |
Hazard yellow |
|
4 |
Can be lethal |
Will vaporize and readily burn at normal temperatures |
May explode at normal temperatures and pressures |
|
3 |
Can cause serious or permanent injury |
Can be ignited under almost all ambient temperatures |
May explode at high temperature or shock |
|
2 |
Can cause temporary incapacitation or residual injury |
Must be heated or high ambient temperature to burn. |
Violent Chemical change at high temperatures or pressures. |
|
1 |
Can cause significant irritation |
Must be preheated before ignition can occur |
Normally stable. High temperatures make unstable |
|
0 |
No hazard |
Will not burn |
Stable |
Health hazard (Blue):-
Health hazards can include skin irritation, diseases such as cancer, respiratory issues, or any number of other health-related risks.
The number breakdown for this section is as follows:
4:- Materials can cause serious injury or death with even limited exposure. Extreme precaution is
necessary at this level. Personal protective equipment needs to be worn before
working with this chemical or even the container that holds it. This is especially
true during an emergency such as a chemical spill. Ex. phosgene, methyl
isocyanate, etc.
3:- Materials that, on short exposure, could cause serious
temporary or residual injury. Ex. liquid hydrogen, sulfuric acid,
calcium hypo-chloritez etc.
2:- Materials that, on short exposure, could cause
temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury. Ex. diethyl ether,
ammonium phosphate, etc.
1:- Materials that, on short exposure, could cause serious
irritation, but only minor residual injury. Ex. acetone, potassium
chloride, etc.
0:- no health hazard and do not require any protection
methods. Chemicals like water and others that are entirely safe under normal
use Ex. paper, wood, etc.
Flammability(Red):-
Flammability classification is based on the material's flash point property. The number breakdown for this section is as follows:
4:- materials whose flashpoint is below 22.8°C. These are
those materials that burn quite easily. Ex. propane, hydrogen gas, acetylene,
etc.
3:- materials whose flashpoint is between the range of
22.8-37.8°C. Ex. acetone, and gasoline.
2:- materials whose flashpoint is between the range of
37.8-93.3°C. Ex.diesel, sulfur
1:-materials whose flash point is above 93.3°C. Ex. Mineral
oil, ammonia
0:-Non combustible Ex. Concrete, stone, sand
Reactivity(Yellow):-
Stability refers to how easily a chemical can change or undergo some type of reaction, you may. Think of it as detonation or an explosion. Highly unstable chemicals can react with something exposed to air or being shaken. It will help to take extreme precaution to avoid any type of reaction.
The number breakdown for this section is as follows:
4:- Those substances are capable of detonation even at normal temperature and pressure. Ex. nitro-glycerine, azidoazide azide, TNT.
3:- Materials that are capable of detonation or explosion
but require a strong initiating source. Ex. hydrogen peroxide, cesium,
etc.
2:- Substances that undergo violent chemical changes at
elevated temperatures and pressures, and those that react violently with water.
Ex. sodium, potassium, etc.
1:- Substances that are normally stable but may become
unstable and reactive at elevated temperatures and pressures. Ex. propene.
0:- substances that are stable even during fire hazards.
Ex. helium, nitrogen, etc.
Special hazard(White):-
There are some symbols approved by the NFPA 704 system are as below:
|
Rating Symbol |
Special Hazard |
|
ALK |
Alkaline |
|
ACD |
Acidic |
|
COR |
Corrosive |
|
OX |
Oxidizing |
|
3-pronged fan  |
Radioactivity |
|
W with line through it |
Reacts violently or explosively with water |
|
W with line through it and OX |
Reacts violently or explosively with water and oxidizing |
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