DO YOU know what the symbol above means?
You have probably seen it displayed on trucks, storage tanks or bottles of chemicals and chemical formulations. This symbol is actually a Hazard Identification Signal formulated by the National Fire Protection Agency, (NFPA) in the United States. It is a colour-coded array of four diamonds arranged in a diamond shape.
The blue, red, and yellow fields represent health, flammability, and reactivity respectively. All fields use a numbering scale ranging from 0 to 4 with zero indicating virtually no hazard and four indicating extreme danger. The fourth colour, white, tends to be more variable and may indicate anything from acidity to water reactivity. The diagram below details the hazards and ratings for each of the diamonds.
So the next time you see this symbol consider it more than a diamond with bright colours and consider yourselves armed for the next curious child who asks, "What does that sign mean?"
Source: safety.science.tamu. edu/nfpa.html
