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Hazard Awareness Sign System

Safety Instruction Number: 
28
Last Update: 
Thu, 10/07/2010

General

  • A caution sign system has been established at OSU; its purpose is to warn employees and visitors entering laboratories and other hazardous areas
  • A sign, depicted below, will be placed at every main entrance to each laboratory room or complex by EH&S
  • Other areas required to have signs: shops, work rooms with materials not commonly found in the office envronment, teaching labs
  • Areas not required to have signs: offices, break rooms, general purpose classrooms, rest rooms, food prep areas
  • Signs are produced by EH& S, but   providing information to keep the sign up-to-date is the responsibility of laboratory personnel.
  • A request form is available to provide current information

New Caution Sign

Sign Components

Hazard Warning Icons

  • A hazard warning icon is required if material or equipment is stored or used at or above the amounts listed below
  • The sign has room for multiple icons

Emergency Contact

  • Lower part of the sign contains a space for names of responsible individuals
  • Contact information is important for emergency incidents
  • At least two names with corresponding contact information should be listed
  • If changes need to be made contact EH&S for a new sign

Hazard Warning Icon Definitions

Flammable SolventsFlames

  • Room contains 10 gallons or more of flammable liquids in a single or multiple containers
  • A flammable liquid is defined as any liquid that has a flash point below 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Centigrade).

Flammable Gasflames

  • The room contains 200 cubic feet or more of a flammable gas in a single or multiple containers A flammable gas is defined as any gas that has a flash point below 100 degrees Fahrenheit ( 37.8 degrees Centigrade) with a container pressure of 40 psia at 100 degrees F
  • An example of this would be a single large compressed gas cylinder of hydrogen.

Highly Toxic Chemicalsskull

  • The room contains a total of 1 pound or more of highly toxic chemicals
  • A highly toxic chemical is a substance with an oral LD50 of less than 50 mg/kg or skin toxicity of less than 200 mg/kg
  • Liquid chemicals should be converted to pounds for this computation

Toxic Gasskull

  • The room contains any amount of a highly toxic gas (inhalation LC50 < 200 ppm)
    • includes arsine, cyanogen, fluorine, germane, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen selenide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen trioxide, phosgene, diphosgene, phosphine, stibene
  • or the room contains 80 cubic feet or more of toxic gases (inhalation LC50 between 200 and 2000 ppm)
    • includes HCl, HBr, HI, HF, boron trifluoride, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chlorine trifluoride, diborane, fluorine, hydrogen sulfide, methylbromide, nitrogen trifluoride, ozone

OxidizersOX flames

  • More than 1 pound of a class 3 oxidizer
    • class 3 oxidizer is defined as a substance that will cause a severe increase in the burning rate of combustible material
    • examples are ammonium dichromate, bromine trifluoride, potassium bromate, potassium chlorate, concentrated perchloric acid
    More than 25 pounds of a class 2 oxidizer
    • class 2 oxidizer is defined as a substance that will moderately increase the burning rate
    • examples are calcium hypochlorite, chromic acid, nitric acid, potassium perchlorate, potassium permanganate, sodium permanganate
  • More than 150 cubic feet of an oxidizing compressed gas
    • examples of an oxidizing compressed gas are oxygen, oxides of nitrogen.

Corrosive Materialscorroded hand

  • The room contains more than 50 gallons (liquid) or 500 pounds (solid) of corrosive materials in a single or multiple containers A corrosive material is defined as a solid caustic substance or a liquid which has a pH of greater than 12 or lower than 2
  • Typical examples of corrosive materials would be acids such as chromic, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric, and sulfuric; bases such a ammonium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium carbonate.

Biohazardbiohazard

  • The room contains a biological agent, capable of self-replication, which presents or may present a hazard to the health or well being of humans The agent is a human bloodborne pathogen or work with the agent has been assigned to be handled in a Biosafety Level 2 or above laboratory based on the guidelines established in the CDC/NIH book "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories"
  • The name of the agent(s) must be entered on the hazard sticker

Radioactive Materialradioactive

  • The room contains any amount of radioactive material.

Radiation Arearadioactive

  • The room contains a radiation source that poses a significant external radiation hazard
  • Sign issued by Radiation Safety group

X-Ray Equipmentradioactive

  • This room contains a machine which produces X-Ray radiation

Laser Lightlaser flash

  • The room contains a Class 2 or Class 3a laser as defined by ANSI Standard Z136.1 Under this classification a class 2 continuous wave laser in the visible range (400nm to 700nm) which can emit a power exceeding 0.4 micro Watts
  • Class 4 laser installations emit power exceeding 0.5 W and require a special sign issued by EH&S.

Restricted AreaDo Not Enter

  • Access to the room is restricted for students and visitors. The restriction does not apply to custodians or Facilities Services personnel who are performing required maintenance activities.

Cancer Suspect Agentcarcinogen