Flammable liquid

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The international pictogram for flammable chemicals. GHS-pictogram-flamme.svg
The international pictogram for flammable chemicals.
Flammable placard HAZMAT Class 3 Flammable Liquids.png
Flammable placard

A flammable liquid is a liquid which can be easily ignited in air at ambient temperatures, i.e. it has a flash point at or below nominal threshold temperatures defined by a number of national and international standards organisations.

Contents

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the United States Department of Labor defines a liquid as flammable if it has a flash point at or below 93 °C (199.4 °F). [1] Prior to bringing regulations in line with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) in 2012, OSHA considered flammable liquids to be those with a flash point below 37.8 °C (100.0 °F). Those with flash points above 37.8 °C/100 °F and below 93.3 °C (199.9 °F) were classified as combustible liquids. [2] [3] Studies show that the actual measure of a liquid's flammability, its flash point, is dependent on the local air pressure, meaning that at higher altitudes where the air pressure is lower, the flash point is also lower. [4]

Categorization

Both OSHA and GHS further divide flammable liquids into 4 categories:

These categorizations are dependent upon a set altitude and atmospheric pressure, as both boiling point and flash point change with changes in pressure. [4]

Labeling

Both GHS and OSHA require the labeling of flammable liquids, on containers and safety data sheets, as follows: [3] [5]

Category ICategory IICategory IIICategory IV
Symbol FlameFlameFlamenone
Signal WordDangerDangerWarningWarning
Hazard StatementExtremely flammable liquid and vapourHighly flammable liquid and vaporFlammable liquid and vapourCombustible liquid

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "1910.106 - Flammable liquids. | Occupational Safety and Health Administration". www.osha.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  2. ↑ "But It Wasn't Flammable Before! GHS Changed the Meaning of 'Flammable Liquids'". EHS Daily Advisor. 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  3. 1 2 "HCS/HazCom 2012 Final Rule & Appendices | Occupational Safety and Health Administration". www.osha.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  4. 1 2 Ding, Chao; Yao, Wei; Tang, Yanfei; Rong, Jianzhong; Zhou, Dechuang; Wang, Jian (March 2014). "Experimental study of the flash point of flammable liquids under different altitudes in Tibet plateau". Fire and Materials. 38 (2): 241–246. doi:10.1002/fam.2177. S2CID   137412493.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Globally harmonized system of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS). United Nations. Economic Commission for Europe. Secretariat. (Seventh revised ed.). New York. 2017. ISBN   9789211171310. OCLC   994197992.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)


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