Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 2011identifying pictographs, and an identification number (found in the Emergency ResponseGuidebook, as per the previous discussion on that). Figure 7-10 outlines these categories,and Figure 7-11 shows examples of the placards.The pictographs are commonly used symbols for various hazards; for example, flamesindicate fire hazard, a skull and crossbones indicates poisonous material. The identificationnumber on the placards indicates the primary hazard class of the hazardous materialcontained.HAZARD CLASS NAMEHAZARD CLASS COLORNUMBERExplosives 1 OrangePoisonous gases 2 WhiteCompressed gases 2 GreenFlammable gas 2 RedFlammable liquids 3 RedFlammable solids (dangerous when wet) 4 Blue/red/whiteOxidizers 5 YellowPoisonous liquids 6 WhiteRadioactive substances 7 Yellow/whiteCorrosives 8 Black/whiteMiscellaneous hazardous materials 9Figure 7-10 – DOT Hazardous Materials Classification SystemFigure 7-11 shows some examples of the DOT placards. In addition to these, containers withmaterials that have multiple classifications will have a placard for each classification. Aswith the building placards, remember that these placards indicate what is supposed to be inthe container, not what may actually be in it. A placard showing a benign chemical could beinaccurate!7.3.3 American Coatings Association Placard SystemThe American Coatings Association has developed a Hazardous Materials InformationSystem (HMIS) for use in the manufacturing industries. This system complies with theCalifornia hazards communication system. The labels are divided into four categories:health, flammability, physical hazard, and recommended personal protection. Note that thesedesignations are different from the NFPA hazard designations. Figure 7-12 shows what thisplacard looks like.For reference, the HMIS numbering system is explained on page 222.222