Which code or standard applies to hazardous materials? How much of a particular hazardous material can be stored or used? What floor of the building can that hazardous material be stored or used on? These are all questions some are faced with daily. There is an assumption that people, such as facility managers, building owners, engineers, and first responders, just inherently know when a material is a hazardous material. And, that once they know it is a hazardous material, they know how to deal with that material properly and safely. We have seen the potential impacts of materials that are improperly stored or used such as in the 2013 fire and explosion at West Fertilizer Company in Texas. How can we prevent incidents like this from happening? The first step is knowing how to identify a hazardous material.
Part of the challenge when it comes to determining and classifying hazardous materials is that there is not one consistent definition of “hazardous material” nor is there one consistent approach to the classification of hazardous materials. Therefore, when looking at Safety Data Sheets (SDS) or literature provided by the manufacturer, it is imperative to know and understand which hazardous material classification system is being used. NFPA 400, Hazardous Materials Code, has its own definition and classification method that consists of 14 different categories. The U.S. DOT uses a 9-category classification system. OSHA has its own definitions established in 29 CFR, which has been revised to align with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). While there has been an effort to coordinate between the groups, differences do still exist. Information on SDS is often based on the GHS system and not the system in NFPA 400.
Defining Hazardous Material
The approach I like to take is to assume materials are hazardous, until I have proven that a particular material is not. As we will discuss there are a number of different definitions and triggers that could lead to a material being considered hazardous. Therefore, I would not want to rely on an initial assumption that a material is not hazardous. When determining if a material is to be considered hazardous, the first step is to identify for what purpose you are evaluating the material for. If you are transporting the material in the United States then the DOT’s definition is what you would need to use, whereas if you are storing or using the material, then you would need to use the definition found in the applicable building code or fire code.
Read more: What is Hazardous Material?
