The National Fire Protection Identification Standard
Employers that use or store hazardous chemicals in the workplace can use the familiar National Fire Protection Hazard Identification Poster to alert workers to chemical dangers in the workplace and provide a readily accessible reference to the personal protective measures that are appropriate for the risks posed by such chemicals.
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 704, the Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response, presents a simple, readily recognized, and easily understood system of markings (commonly referred to as the “NFPA hazard diamond”) that provides an immediate sense of hazardous materials and the severity of these hazards as they relate to emergency response. The NFPA standard addresses the health, flammability, instability, and related hazards that are presented by short-term, acute exposure to a material under conditions of fire, spill, or similar emergencies.
National Fire Protection Hazard Identification Poster Description
The National Fire Protection Hazard Identification Poster depicts the NFPA system of the four widely-recognized diamond color codes:
- Blue – Health Hazard
- Red – Flammability Hazard
- Yellow – Instability Hazard
- White – Special Hazard
Each diamond provides space to write in the specific NFPA numeric rating codes, 0-least hazardous to 4-most hazardous. The poster provides space to fill in your workplace chemicals, emergency phone numbers, and space to provide the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) for each hazard.
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard
The NFPA standard can be used along with OSHA-compliant chemical labels and safety data sheets required by OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard to help workers minimize occupational risks from hazardous chemicals used, stored at or transferred between facilities. OSHA has a Quick Card employers and chemical handlers can download to help coordinate use of OSHA’s HCS standard and NFPA’s 704 standard here.