Chemical Right-to-Know Labeling
The NFPA 704 system was originally conceived to safeguard the lives of those individuals who may be called upon to remedy a hazardous emergency situation where the location or storage of fire hazards may not be readily apparent. Its objectives are to provide an appropriate signal or alert to the type of hazards present. Although the system was developed primarily with the needs of fire protection agencies in mind, it is of value to anyone who needs to handle potentially hazardous material.
The placard should be visible in case of emergency where the responders are likely to enter. All tanks, areas, rooms, storage areas and all doors that directly access the tanks, areas, rooms and storage areas that contain a hazardous substance be placarded. Additionally, a placard with no numbers shall be placed on the front of the building to identify the building to the Fire Department as a labeled building.
Any room or area that has more than one hazardous substance will list the highest number of the most hazardous substance for each section of the placards that are placed on the doors that lead to these areas.
For additional information on placarding requirements, please see the City of Milwaukee Code Requirements for Identification of Fire Hazards of Materials NFPA 704.
NFPA 704 Hazard Placard(Click on individual sections of NFPA Diamond for additional hazard information) 
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4 = Severe Hazard3 = Serious Hazard2 = Moderate Hazard1 = Slight Hazard0 = Minimal HazardBased on City of Milwaukee Code Requirements For |
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 704 System:
The NFPA 704 system provides a readily recognized, easily understood system for identifying specific hazards and their severity using spatial, visual, and numerical methods to describe in simple terms the relative hazards of a material. It addresses the health, flammability, instability, and related hazards that may be presented as short-term, acute exposures that are most likely to occur as a result of fire, spill, or similar emergency.
The NFPA 704 system was originally conceived to safeguard the lives of those individuals who may be called upon to remedy a hazardous emergency situation where the location or storage of fire hazards may not be readily apparent. Its objectives are to provide an appropriate signal or alert to the type of hazards present.
The NFPA 704 Hazard Placard identifies the following hazards of chemicals:
The hazards are arranged spatially as follows: health at nine o'clock position, flammability at twelve o'clock position, and instability at three o'clock position. The six o'clock position on the symbol represents special hazards and has a white background. The special hazards in use are W, which indicates unusual reactivity with water and is a caution about the use of water in either fire fighting or spill control response, and OX, which indicates that the material is an oxidizer.
Each hazard class is ranked to indicate the degree of hazard. These rankings range from "0" designating a "minimal" hazard, "1" indicating a "slight hazard", "2" indicating a "moderate hazard, "3" indicating a "serious hazard" and "4" indicating a "severe" hazard.
Flammability ratings are determined by the flashpoint temperature. A rating of "4" indicates a flashpoint below 73°F, "3" is a flashpoint below 100°F, a rating of "2" indicates a flashpoint below 200°F, 1 indicates a flashpoint above 200°F and a "0" indicates the material will not burn.
The City of Milwaukee Department of Building Inspection-Hazardous Occupancy Section requires that:
- All tanks, areas, rooms, storage areas and all doors that directly access the tanks, areas, rooms and storage areas that contain a hazardous substance be placarded.
- A placard with no numbers shall be placed on the front of the building to identify the building to the Fire Department as a labeled building.
- Any room or area that has more than one hazardous substance will list the highest number of the most hazardous substance for each section of the placards that are placed on the doors that lead to these areas. Individual hazardous substances must still be labeled.
Hazardous Materials Information System® (HMIS)
Similar to the NFPA 704 identification method is the Hazardous Materials Information System® (HMIS) developed by the National Paint and Coatings Association. This system uses blue, red, orange, and white horizontal bars for the health, flammability, physical hazards and special hazard categories. The label identifies general Health, Flammability, and Physical Hazards, using color-coded fields, as well as recommendations for personal protective equipment. Icons then show the specific type of Health, Physical Hazard, or PPE; i.e., the specific target organ affected or that the noted physical hazard is explosive, and that the PPE combination of choice consists of a splash shield, protective gloves, and a synthetic apron. The icons are a new aspect of the HMIS®.
The HMIS® labeling system satisfies a portion of the Hazard Communication Standard requirements by allowing workers to identify, at a glance, the type and degree of hazards associated with each product they use. HMIS® labels can appear in a variety of formats. Some will include additional spaces to list target organ effects (a labeling requirement under 29 CFR 1910.1200) and other information, but the four colored areas shown here will always be present.
HMIS® III provides more information about a chemical's physical hazard(s). The specific physical hazards that the Hazard Communication Standard addresses are flammability, compressed gases, explosives, organic peroxides, oxidizers, pyrophorics, unstable-reactive and water-reactive chemicals. The new HMIS® III not only specifically incorporates each hazard, with specific criteria to evaluate the degree of hazard, but permits employers to identify the hazard present with an icon or symbol.
In the orange "physical hazards" section the following ratings apply:
"4" -- Materials that are readily capable of explosive water reaction, detonation or explosive decomposition, polymerization, or self-reaction at normal temperature and pressure.
"3" -- Materials that may form explosive mixtures with water and are capable of detonation or explosive reaction in the presence of a strong initiating source. Materials may polymerize, decompose, self-react, or undergo other chemical change at normal temperature and pressure with moderate risk of explosion.
"2" -- Materials that are unstable and may undergo violent chemical changes at normal temperature and pressure with low risk for explosion. Materials may react violently with water or form peroxides upon exposure to air.
"1" -- Materials that are normally stable but can become unstable (self-react) at high temperatures and pressures. Materials may react non-violently with water or undergo hazardous polymerization in the absence of inhibitors.
"0" -- Materials that are normally stable, even under fire conditions, and will not react with water, polymerize, decompose, condense, or self-react. Non-explosives.
A major difference between NFPA 704 and HMIS® is in the white "Personal Protection" section which incorporates a letter coding indicating what personal protective equipment should be used when working with the material. The following letter scheme is used:
A Safety Glasses B Safety Glasses and Gloves C Safety Glasses, Gloves and Protective Apron D Faceshield, Gloves and Protective Apron E Safety Glasses, Gloves and Dust Respirator F Safety Glasses, Gloves, Protective Apron and Dust Respirator G Safety Glasses, Gloves and Vapor Respirator H Splash Goggles, Gloves, Protective Apron and Vapor Respirator I Safety Glasses, Gloves, Dust Respirator and Vapor Respirator J Splash Goggles, Gloves, Protective Apron, Dust Respirator and Vapor Respirator K Airline Mask or Hood, Gloves, Full Suit and Boots
Updated May 31, 2007 by SAK