Hazardous materials

Dangerous goods or hazardous goods are solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property, or the environment. They are often subject to chemical regulations. In the United States, United Kingdom and sometimes in Canada, dangerous goods are more commonly known as hazardous materials (abbreviated as HAZMAT or hazmat). Hazmat teams are personnel specially trained to handle dangerous goods, which include materials that are radioactive, flammable, explosive, corrosive, oxidizing, asphyxiating, biohazardous, toxic, pathogenic, or allergenic. Also included are physical conditions such as compressed gases and liquids or hot materials, including all goods containing such materials or chemicals, or may have other characteristics that render them hazardous in specific circumstances.

In the United States, dangerous goods are often indicated by diamond-shaped signage on the item (see NFPA 704), its container, or the building where it is stored. The color of each diamond indicates its hazard, e.g., flammable is indicated with red, because fire and heat are generally of red color, and explosive is indicated with orange, because mixing red (flammable) with yellow (oxidizing agent) creates orange. A nonflammable or nontoxic gas is indicated with green, because all compressed air vessels are this color in France after World War II, and France was where the diamond system of hazmat identification originated.

Mitigating the risks associated with hazardous materials may require the application of safety precautions during their transport, use, storage and disposal. Most countries regulate hazardous materials by law, and they are subject to several international treaties as well. Even so, different countries may use different class diamonds for the same product. For example, in Australia, Anhydrous Ammonia UN 1005 is classified as 2.3 (Toxic Gas) with sub risk 8 (Corrosive), whereas in the U.S. it is only classified as 2.2 (Non Flammable Gas).

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