So when you’re driving down the road and you notice a red color diamond shaped sign with numbers and a little picture on it. (Just a side note my husband and I play the placard guessing game when we are in the car going on a trip.) Have you ever wonder what it is or why it’s there? It’s there to protect the general public and any first responders to a scene of an accident. And that little diamond shaped picture is so powerful a lot of people don’t even realize it.
A placard has 9 classes
- Explosives
- Compressed Gasses
- Flammable Liquids
- Flammable Solids
- Oxidizers
- Poisons
- Radioactive Liquids
- Corrosive Liquids
- Miscellaneous
Each group has numbers assigned to it for each hazard which is being transported in bulk buy truck or rail. Heating Oil is a Class 3. Remember heating oil is only flammable when it is in a vaporized form not in the tank hanging out as a liquid. A little fun fact and I promise I’ll make a quick video someday to show you but when heating oil in let say a coffee can you can drop a match in it and it will not catch fire or explode. Heating oil is a very safe product.
Labels are designed to identify and meet certain specification which are then placed on the shipment Heating Oil has the flame on its placard.
These are requirements for all shippers and carriers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. This is what the law reads. Title 49 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (49CFR) also known as the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations (FMCSR) requires the use hazardous materials placards when shipping hazardous materials cargo and dangerous goods in the United States. (http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/hazmat/placards/)
Thanks for stopping by and reading this blog. Don’t forget to comment or send me a picture of the placards you come across on your trip! Safe Travels!
Warmly,
ED’s Girl