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NFPA System

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends certain markings for use on storage tanks, exterior building walls, pipelines and other relevant locations. This procedure for identifying potential hazards associate with a chemical is called the NFPA 704 system. NFPA ratings can be found on the MSDS sheet.

The NFPA system uses a diamond with color coded: Blue is for the health hazard. Red is for the flammability hazard. Yellow is for the reactivity hazard. White is for special hazards. A number is placed in each section ranging from 0-4. A 0 means no hazard and a 4 means an extreme hazard.

The following seven symbols are employed in the white section of an NFPA diamond: A radiation hazard symbol is a three bladed propeller. The letter “W” with a line trough it is a caution against applying water. The letters “OXY” indicate that the material is an oxidizer. The letter “P” indicates there is a potential for the material to under go auto-polymerization. The Word “ACID” indicate that the material is an acid. The letters “ALK” indicate that the material is an alkali (base). The letters “COR” indicate that the material is corrosive.

Figure 1 Radiation propeller.

Figure 2 NFPA Placard

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	Mission Statement Courses Instructors Resources Links Chemistry/Physics Home Arts and Sciences Homepage		NFPA System The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends certain markings for use on storage tanks, exterior building walls, pipelines and other relevant locations. This procedure for identifying potential hazards associate with a chemical is called the NFPA 704 system. NFPA ratings can be found on the MSDS sheet. The NFPA system uses a diamond with color coded: Blue is for the health hazard. Red is for the flammability hazard. Yellow is for the reactivity hazard. White is for special hazards. A number is placed in each section ranging from 0-4. A 0 means no hazard and a 4 means an extreme hazard. The following seven symbols are employed in the white section of an NFPA diamond: A radiation hazard symbol is a three bladed propeller. The letter “W” with a line trough it is a caution against applying water. The letters “OXY” indicate that the material is an oxidizer. The letter “P” indicates there is a potential for the material to under go auto-polymerization. The Word “ACID” indicate that the material is an acid. The letters “ALK” indicate that the material is an alkali (base). The letters “COR” indicate that the material is corrosive. Figure 1 Radiation propeller. Figure 2 NFPA Placard