NFPA diamond diagram also known as the safety diamond is developed by the Nation Fire Protection Association for hazard identification and still, and it is widely used over the world. The national fire protection association was established as a nonprofit organization, in 1896. One can also call this NFPA 704 and a couple of other names such as safety square and Fire diamond.
This is designed to provide information quickly related to the identification of risks of hazardous materials which will help the emergency response team to act accordingly.
There are lots of terms that are associated with industry and among those, this is one of them, previously, we had discussed what is Hazchem Code Chart & Details With Examples similarly, today, in this post, we will learn what is fire diamond diagram its uses and chart.
Table of Contents
What is NFPA Diamond diagram?
NFPA diagram consists of four divisions with color and has a number from (0-4) in three of the divisions and a special character written in one of them. Each division is coloured Red, blue white and yellow which indicates health hazards, flammability, reactivity, and special hazards that chemicals may possess during a fire.
Purpose of safety diagram.
Fire diamond is to convey the instruction to fire the fighting person about the hazard to the human from the chemical. It represents a hazard to human health in 4 aspects, heath Flammability reactivity, and special hazard. One can see these fire diamond diagram trucks transporting chemicals, chemical storage containers, cylinders, or drums.
NFPA Diamond Diagram Chart
Health Hazard
- 4 – Deadly
- 3 – Extremely danger
- 2 – Hazardous
- 1 – Slightly Hazardous
- 0 – Normal Material
Flammability Hazard
- 4 – Material with a flash point below 73 ºF
- 3 – Material with a flash point below 100 ºF
- 2 – Material with a flash point below 200 ºF
- 1 – Material with a flash point above 200 ºF
- 0 – Will Not Burn
Reactivity
- 4 – May detonate
- 3 – Shock and heat may detonate
- 2 – Violent chemical change
- 1 – Unstable when heated
- 0 – Stable
Special Hazard
- ACID – Acid
- ALK – Alkali
- COR – Corrosive
- OXY – Oxidizer
- ☢ – Radioactive
- W – Use No Water
Example of Chart of Chlorine
Here is an example of chlorine, in which, the rating is given as below, – Read MSDS of chlorine
- Health – 4 – Here, 4 number indicates that this can be lethal.
- Flammability – 0 – Will not burn
- Reactivity – 0 – Normally stable
- Special Hazard – OX – Possess oxidizing properties.
1. What is the full form of NFPA?
Ans – NFPA stands for National Fire Protection Association.
2. What does NFPA diamond mean?
Ans – The National Fire Protection Association created a diamond diagram as a rating system, which helps to identify hazards of a material.
3. What does the white color on the NFPA diamond stand for?
Ans – The white color symbolizes special hazards i.e. Acid, radioactive material, oxidizer, and many more.
4. What are the four colors of the risk diamond?
Ans – The four colours of are Red, yellow blue, and white.
5. What is NFPA 704?
It is a colour-coded diagram developed by the Nation Fire Protection Association that helps determine the danger from the chemicals and warn firefighters to take necessary actions in case of fire.
Wrapping Up
This was brief on what is NFPA diamond guide is and its purpose. Suppose you are related to the chemical industry or you want to learn more about industrial safety. In that case, you can read industrial safety articles where we had covered important topics in brief. In the meantime, you can read 6 Steps Of Hazard Prevention which will help you to know what is workplace safety and how to prevent it.
NFPA 704 the yellow diamond stands for Reactivity, Physical Hazard or Instability. What yellow description is correct? Red and Blue diamonds stay consistent.
yes, yellow stands for reactivity. The information provided in the post is correct.
Very informative