Hazardous materials awareness Chapter 6 Hazardous materials containters and packaging

the hazard classes Class 1 explosives Class 2 compressed gases Class 3 flammable liquids Class 4 flammable solids Class 5 oxidizers Class 6 poisons Class 7 radioactives Class 8 corrosives Class 9 misc.

Class 1, explosives Most explosives will not detonate if handled properly Explosives need to be protected from open flame, excessive heat, friction, impact, electrical shock, and chemical contamination Some explosives may become extremely unstable if decomposed or misfired.

explosives Dynamite can be shipped in fiberboard cartriges, larger charges may have heavy walled spiral bound cardboard tubes Detonators and det-cord is packed in fiberboard cartons Black powder is usually found in metal cans, with 50 cans to a box in most cases. Blasting agents are found in large paper bags like cement, that have a plastic liner to keep mooisture out

Compressed gases A prssure vessel is a tank to contain the gas that can be found in many forms, with max pressures from 40psi to 4000psi. There are many shapes of ciontainer, from 1 ton chlorine tanks to our scba cylinders The 3 most common catagories are pipelines, cylinders, and tanks. Differences between tanks and cylinders is a fine line, and depends on what standard the vessel was built under. All tanks and cylinders are steel except for disposables and cylinders for forklifts.

Flammable liquids Can involve highway tank trucks, railroad tank cars, fixed facilities, and pipelines Liquid tanks pose less threat than do gas cylinders or tanks as they are less likely to bleve Most common packaging is in metal cans that are packed in cardboard boxes

Flammable liquids Next most common are 5 gallon pails and 55 gallon drums Some drums may be plastic depending on the material Dot prohibits the use of glass containers for storing flammable liquids Tank trailers, tank trucks and rail tanks are all bulk containers

Flammable liquid bulk tanks Highway tanks are steel, aluminum, and stainless steel usually loaded and unloaded from the bottom. Many highway tanks now have vapor recovery lines as well Rail tanks are mostly steel but stainless steel, aluminum, and nickle alloy tanks are also in use Rail tanks are loaded from the top and unloaded from the bottom in most cases

Flammable solids These include spontaneously combustibles, and materials that are dangerous when wet Usually shipped non-bulk by tubes, pails, steel and fiberboard durms, cardboard boxes and bags. White phosphurus and sodium are shipped by rail tank Containers are either tightly sealed or filled with an inert medium

oxidizers Oxidizers accelerate burning, and may ignite spontaneously in contact with organic materials like hydrocarbons Organic peroxides in some forms are shock, heat, or light sensitive, and may decompose causing an explosive container failure

Oxidizer containers Common packaging includes multi-ply plastic lined paper bags, metal tins, and steel, fiberboard, and plastic drums Liquid or slurry form mixtures are kept in stainless steel tanks Bulk transport of dry materials are usually shipped by railcar hopper Organic peroxides are limited in the quantity that can be shipped at one time, usually no more than 55 gallons

poisons Substances that are known to be toxic to humans Comes in all forms of containers and is shipped in bulk by intermodal portable tanks, highway tank trucks, rail tank cars, barges, and marine tankers Infectious substances are shipped in small vials and measured in ounces, they are overpacked in strong containers

radioactives Types of radiation that can be emitted include alpha, beta, gamma, x-rays and neutron radiation Like many other materials, structural firefighting gear will not provide sufficient protection Multiple types can be emitted from the same source

Radioactive containers Type a packaging is designed for low level radioactives used in commercial applications. They include cardboard boxes, wooden crates, and compressed gas cylinders Type b packaging is extremely strong and is used for more highly radioactive shipments, designed to be impact resistant

corrosives Materials that destroy flesh, aluminum, and steel Corrosives are measured on a ph scale of 1 thru 14 1 thru 6 on the scale are acids, 8 thru 14 are bases, also called alkalines or caustics, 7 is neutral

Containers for corrosives Include glass and plastic bottles, carboys and drums, wax bottles are used to transport hydroflouric acids because they also attack glass Dry corrosives can be stored in mulitlayered plastic and paper bags Corrosive tanks are smaller than other hazmat tanks as corrosives are heavier than water, in some cases twice the weight of water