Waycross College

NFPA Hazard Codes

NFPA stands for the National Fire Protection Association. They originally developed this set of hazard rankings for their own purposes, but the rankings have proven to be very useful in the chemical industry.

FLAMABILITY

0 -  material will not burn

1 -  material must be preheated to burn

2 -  material must be preheated or exposed to relatively high ambient temperature to ignite

3 -  material can be ignited under almost all ambient temperatures

4 -  material will rapidly or completely vaporize readily at STP or will burn readily when dispersed in air

REACTIVITY

0 -  material is normally stable and is not reactive with water

1 -  material is normally stable, but may become unstable at elevated temperatures or may react with water

2 -  material is normally unstable and readily undergoes violent chemical change but does not detonate.  May react violently with water or may form potentially explosive mixtures with water

3 -  material is capable of detonation or explosive reaction but requires a strong initiating source or may react explosively with water

4 -  material is readily capable of detonation or explosive decomposition or reaction at standard temperature and pressure (room pressure, 0 Celsius)

TOXICITY

0 -  Exposure to materials under fire conditions offer no special health hazard

1 -  Exposure to material can cause short term irritation or minor residual injury if untreated

2 -  Intense or continued exposure to material can cause temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury unless prompt medical attention is given

3 -  Short exposure to material can cause serious temporary or residual injury even if prompt medical attention is given

4 -  Very short exposure to material can cause death or major residual injury even if prompt medical attention is given

OTHER HAZARD CODES

1.  OXY - an oxidizing material

2.  Corrosive - a strong acid or base

3.  Radioactive material

4.  Hazardous material when in contact with water