Hazardous materials signs warn of dangerous substances and are used in permanent facilities, transportation vehicles, and other settings. Many countries have specific regulations on their design and use for public safety.
Hazardous materials signs are examples of signs used to warn anyone in the immediate area of the presence of materials considered hazardous to the health of humans and various types of animal life. The idea is to alert people so they can take appropriate steps to protect themselves from exposure and contamination, thus avoiding harm to their health. Signs of this type are posted in permanent facilities where hazardous materials are handled as part of research and development, as well as in industrial, military and other settings.
Signage to warn of potential danger is common in many countries. While some of these signs are made of plain metals and are bolted or otherwise permanently attached to a wall or doors leading into an area where materials are stored, magnetic hazmat signs are in common use in many areas of the world. Often, specific manufacturers are granted licenses to produce hazmat placards which are in turn purchased by companies and other organizations that work with hazardous materials.
Most countries have specific regulations on how hazardous materials must be designed, when they must be posted, and where they should be posted. Normally, a government agency is responsible for defining what constitutes hazardous materials, the design and wording used on hazardous materials signs, and how they should be displayed. This doesn’t just apply to fixed sites such as plants and research laboratories; signs are also designed for use on moving vehicles used to transport hazardous waste from one location to another.
In the United States, the Department of Transportation is responsible for defining the various classes of hazardous waste and determining the design and use of hazardous materials placards that appear on transportation vehicles. The shape, size and color scheme used to denote different classes of materials, including radioactive materials, are uniform throughout the country. This makes it much easier for transportation experts to be able to know at a glance what kind of materials are in the shipment and what precautions to take to stay safe while in the vicinity of the materials.
The United States isn’t alone in using hazardous materials signs to warn people of nearby hazardous substances. Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom are all examples of countries where the correct identification and classification of hazardous materials of all kinds is considered essential to public safety. As in the United States, regulations in these other countries require the use of signs in permanent structures and on vehicles used to transport materials between locations, and have specific regulations on how signage must be displayed prominently and easily seen.
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