Recognition & Identification
24%of exam
DOT PlacardsNFPA 704Shipping PapersSDS SectionsGHS Pictograms
Initial Response
16%of exam
Hazards Classification
16%of exam
DOT Classes 1-9Flash PointVapor DensityBLEVERoutes of Exposure
Resources
14%of exam
Container Types
14%of exam
Initial Action Limitations
10%of exam
Reporting & Documentation
6%of exam
ICS-201Scene Size-UpTransfer of CommandShipping Papers
Quick Facts
- Exam
- NFPA 470 Awareness
- Standard
- NFPA 470 (2022 ed.)
- Questions
- 50 MC
- Time
- 60 min
- Pass
- 70%
- Level
- Awareness (Ch. 4)
- Accreditation
- Pro Board / IFSAC
- Replaces
- NFPA 472/473/1072
NFPA 704 Color Order
Blue health, red fire, yellow reactive, white special
Blue = healthRed = flammabilityYellow = instabilityWhite = special hazard
Which DOT Class Placard
- Number 1, orange→Class 1 Explosives
- Number 2, red→Class 2.1 Flammable gas
- Number 2, green→Class 2.2 Non-flammable gas
- Number 2, white skull→Class 2.3 Toxic gas
- Number 3, red flame→Class 3 Flammable liquid
- Number 5, yellow flame→Class 5 Oxidizer
- Number 6, skull symbol→Class 6.1 Toxic
- Number 7, trefoil→Class 7 Radioactive
- White/black split→Class 8 Corrosive
- Black stripes, number 9→Class 9 Miscellaneous
DOT Placards: Classes 1-4
- Class 1 (orange)
- Explosives
- Class 2.1 (red)
- Flammable gas
- Class 2.2 (green)
- Non-flammable gas
- Class 2.3 (white)
- Toxic gas
- Class 3 (red)
- Flammable liquid
- Class 4.1 (red/white)
- Flammable solid
- Class 4.2 (white/red)
- Spontaneously combustible
- Class 4.3 (blue)
- Dangerous when wet
DOT Placards: Classes 5-9
- Class 5.1/5.2 (yellow)
- Oxidizer / organic peroxide
- Class 6.1 (white, skull)
- Toxic / poison
- Class 6.2 (white, crescents)
- Infectious substance
- Class 7 (yellow/white)
- Radioactive
- Class 8 (white/black)
- Corrosive
- Class 9 (striped)
- Miscellaneous dangerous goods
NFPA 704 Diamond
- Blue quadrant
- Health hazard, 0-4
- Red quadrant
- Flammability hazard, 0-4
- Yellow quadrant
- Instability/reactivity, 0-4
- White quadrant
- Special hazard symbol
- OX symbol
- Oxidizer
- W-slash symbol
- Water reactive, no water
- SA symbol
- Simple asphyxiant
- Rating 4
- Severe or extreme hazard
- Rating 0
- No hazard
Shipping Papers & SDS
- Bill of lading
- Highway shipping paper
- Waybill / consist
- Rail shipping paper
- Air waybill
- Air shipping paper
- Dangerous cargo manifest
- Water shipping paper
- Hazardous waste manifest
- EPA Form 8700-22
- Packing group I/II/III
- Great, medium, minor danger
- RQ
- Reportable quantity, CERCLA
- SDS Section 2
- Hazard identification
- SDS Section 4
- First aid measures
- SDS Section 5
- Firefighting measures
- SDS Section 6
- Accidental release measures
UN Numbers & GHS
- UN1203
- Gasoline
- UN1005
- Anhydrous ammonia
- UN1017
- Chlorine
- UN1830
- Sulfuric acid
- UN1075
- LPG / propane
- GHS flame-over-circle
- Oxidizer pictogram
- GHS signal word Danger
- More severe hazard
- GHS signal word Warning
- Less severe hazard
Staging Position Rule
Stay upwind, uphill, and upstream of the release
Upwind: avoid vaporUphill: avoid heavy gasUpstream: avoid runoff
Evacuation vs Shelter-in-Place
Evacuation
- Prolonged release
- Clear safe routes
Shelter-in-Place
- Short, fast-clearing
- Immobile population
Move away vs seal in
Evacuate or Shelter-in-Place
- Short, fast-clearing plume→Shelter-in-place
- Prolonged, persistent release→Evacuate
- Population immobile, hospital→Shelter-in-place
- Clear routes, advance warning→Evacuate
- Vapor heavier than air→Interior room, upper floor
Isolation & Positioning
- Upwind
- Avoid vapor
- Uphill
- Avoid heavy-gas runoff
- Upstream
- Avoid waterborne contamination
- Time-distance-shielding
- Awareness protection triad
- Hot zone
- Exclusion, trained entry only
- Warm zone
- Decon corridor
- Cold zone
- Command, staging, Awareness ops
Hot Zone vs Cold Zone
Hot Zone
- Contaminated, exclusion
- Trained/PPE entry only
Cold Zone
- Support, command, staging
- Awareness operates here
Exclusion vs support
Protective Actions
- Evacuation
- Prolonged or persistent release
- Shelter-in-place
- Short, quick-passing plume
- Close HVAC/windows
- Shelter-in-place step
- Interior upper room
- For heavier-than-air vapor
- Crosswind then upwind
- Caught-in-plume response
DOT Class Properties
- Flash point
- Lowest ignitable-vapor temperature
- Vapor density > 1
- Sinks, low areas
- Vapor density < 1
- Rises, disperses
- Specific gravity > 1
- Sinks in water
- Specific gravity < 1
- Floats on water
- High vapor pressure
- Evaporates quickly
- Low boiling point
- Vaporizes rapidly, gas
- BLEVE
- Vessel rupture, fireball
- pH 0-2
- Strong acid
- pH 12-14
- Strong base
Routes & Hazard Clues
- Inhalation
- Fastest exposure route
- Dermal
- Skin absorption route
- Ingestion
- GI tract route
- Injection
- Broken-skin route
- Almond odor
- Hydrogen cyanide clue
- Rotten-egg odor
- H2S, olfactory fatigue risk
- Dead animals/insects
- WMD or chemical indicator
- Clan lab odor
- Ammonia, solvents, cat urine
ERG Section Flow
Yellow or blue to orange, green for TIH
Yellow: UN numberBlue: chemical nameOrange: response guideGreen: isolation distance
CHEMTREC vs NRC
CHEMTREC
- 1-800-424-9300
- Product/technical info
- Industry-run
NRC
- 1-800-424-8802
- Federal release reporting
- Coast Guard run
Info line vs mandatory report
Which ERG Section to Use
- Have UN number→Yellow section first
- Have shipping name only→Blue section first
- Have placard, no UN #→Orange placard table
- TIH/PIH material found→Green section distances
- Water-reactive TIH producer→Table 2, then Table 3
- Unknown material→First 30 Minutes guide
ERG Sections
- Yellow section
- UN/NA number index
- Blue section
- Alphabetical name index
- Orange section
- Numbered response guides
- Green section
- Isolation/protective distances
- Table 1
- Initial isolation and PAD
- Table 2
- List of water-reactive TIH producers
- Table 3
- CW agents, water-reactive, large spills
- Small spill
- 55 gal (208 L) or less
- Large spill
- Exceeds small-spill threshold
- First 30 Minutes guide
- Unknown-material default
Isolation vs Protective Action Distance
Isolation Distance
- Circle, all directions
- Everyone must leave
Protective Action Distance
- Downwind rectangle
- Evacuate or shelter
All-around vs downwind
Emergency Contacts & Reporting
- CHEMTREC
- 1-800-424-9300
- NRC
- 1-800-424-8802
- LEPC
- Local emergency planning committee
- SERC
- State emergency response commission
- Tier II report
- Filed by March 1
- AAR Bureau of Explosives
- Rail explosives resource
- PHMSA
- Publishes ERG, enforces 49 CFR
Yellow vs Blue ERG Section
Yellow Section
- Numeric UN/NA index
- Look up by ID number
Blue Section
- Alphabetical name index
- Look up by chemical name
Number vs name lookup
Cargo Tanks
- MC-306 / DOT-406
- Oval, flammable liquids
- MC-331
- Round, propane / LPG
- MC-338
- Cryogenic, insulated jacket
- MC-307 / DOT-407
- Chemical liquids
- DOT-412
- Reinforcing rings, corrosives
- IBC / tote
- 119-793 gal capacity
Rail & Intermodal Containers
- DOT-105/111/112
- Pressure tank cars
- DOT-117
- Newer flammable-liquid car
- IMO Type 1
- Pressure intermodal tank
- IMO Type 5
- Cryogenic intermodal tank
- Non-bulk packaging
- 119 gal or 882 lb max
- 1A1 drum code
- Steel, non-removable head
Four Awareness Duties
Recognize, protect, notify, secure, never mitigate
Recognize the hazardProtect self and othersNotify for trained helpSecure, deny entry
Awareness vs Operations
Awareness
- Recognize only
- No product control
- Cold zone only
Operations
- Defensive actions
- Dike, dam, divert
- Warm zone entry
Watch vs act defensively
Awareness Response Sequence
- Arrive on scene→Recognize, stage upwind
- Hazard identified→Notify dispatch, request HazMat
- Perimeter needed→Isolate, deny entry
- Victim exposed→Self-rescue, gross decon only
- Operations arrives→Brief via ICS-201
Awareness Scope
- Recognize
- Identify the hazard
- Protect
- Self and others
- Notify
- Initiate response system
- Secure area
- Isolate, deny entry
- No product control
- No diking, no plugging
- No decontamination
- Operations/Technician task
- No hot-zone entry
- Not trained or equipped
- Turnout gear
- Not chemical-protective
Operations vs Technician
Operations
- Defensive, no contact
- Dike, dam, divert
Technician
- Offensive, direct contact
- Plug, patch, overpack
No-contact vs contact
Reporting Tools
- ICS-201
- Incident briefing form
- Scene size-up
- Conditions, exposures, resources
- Transfer of command
- Brief incoming IC
- PIO
- Public messaging channel
Common Traps
Awareness ≠ Operations
Awareness only recognizes ≠ Operations takes defensive action
CHEMTREC ≠ NRC
CHEMTREC gives product info ≠ NRC takes federal reports
Isolation distance ≠ protective action distance
Isolation is a circle ≠ Protective action is downwind
Vapor density ≠ specific gravity
Vapor density compares to air ≠ Specific gravity compares to water
Turnout gear ≠ chemical PPE
Turnout stops fire only ≠ Chemical PPE needed for hazmat
Class 6.1 ≠ Class 6.2
6.1 is toxic poison ≠ 6.2 is infectious substance
Small spill ≠ large spill
Small is 55 gal or less ≠ Large exceeds that threshold
Last Minute
- 1.Recognize, protect, notify, secure only
- 2.Stay upwind, uphill, and upstream
- 3.No product control at Awareness
- 4.No decontamination at Awareness level
- 5.Turnout gear is not chemical PPE
- 6.CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 for products
- 7.NRC: 1-800-424-8802 for federal reports
- 8.Yellow section: look up UN number
- 9.Green section: TIH isolation distances
- 10.Awareness stays in the cold zone
- 11.Blue quadrant equals health hazard
- 12.70% passing score on 50 questions
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