I
in the Chemical laboratory Edited
by NORMAN V. STEERE, M e l b o u r n e Ave., S.E.
140
M i n n e a p o l i s , Minn. 5 5 4 1 4
Modern hospital practice requires the presence within the same structure of both quantities of comhnslihle and flammable materials together with incapacitated patients. The widespread and increasing use of disposable materials has compounded the dual problems of combustible storage and disposal of trash. Many of these materials and their wrappings are fabricated of plastics which will ignite easily, burn readily and produce large volumes of dense, irritating and potentially toxic smoke. I n any situation which the lives of patients m d personnel may he threatened by fire, or especially by the combustion products of fire, i t is especidly important that the hme.rds he appropriately recognised and identified so that the fire fighting, when needed, can he initiated quickly and effectively. That is, all personnel-hospital and fire service-should know where the particular haza d s are and to what degree, in order to launch an efficient fire attack in short order. I n 1961 the National Fire Protection Association adapted and published a Recommended System for the Identification of Fire Hsettrds of Materid8.' Because of the beginning adoption of this system by industry, and a knowledge of i t by fire service personnel, we felt i t would be highly desirable to adopt the system for use in our hospital. Properlyapplied to ingress doors of various hospital itreas or to pieces of equipment, the system gives fire fighters instant knowledge of the emergency health, fire, and reactivity hazards of the most dangerous substance continued therein. This knowledge is invaluable, especially during the initial stages of fire fighting and rescue operations, when prompt and proper setion is so necessary to extinguish or contain the blaze. The purpose of this srtiele is to delineate this method of identification, and to show how this hazard signal system can he applied, a t minims1 east, in hospitals and similar facilities. The system revolves about three of
* Reprinted with permission
from Hos-
pital Topics, July, 1970.
t Dr. Dornette is Chairman, Sectional Committees on Inhdation Therapy and on Hyperbaric-Hypobaric Facilities, NFPA Committee on Hospitals. f When this cansult~tionwas carried ant in our hospital, some hazardous chemicals, in storage but no longer in use, were discovered and removed from the premises. A516
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hazard) from zero according (no hazard) to the toratings 4 (maximum listed in the table. The white space is reserved if radioactive lor a radioact'ivity materials are continued therein. If the area contains a. chemical which will react
NEEDED FOR E A C H NUMERAL, THREE NEEDED FOR LhC*
MLTH
a#tD
reactivity hazards are numerically coded,
LXVI. Fire Hazard Identification of Hospital Areas* WILLIAM H. 1. DORNETTEt, M.D., Chief, Anesthesiology o n d LOUIS A. BARTLETT, Chief, P r o t e c t i v e Section, T h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Hospital, Cincinnofi, Ohio
. . a
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A ARRANGEMENT AND ORDER OF SIGNALS -OPTIONAL FORM OF APPLICATION
IDENTIFICATION OF MATERIALS BY HAZARD SIGNAL ARRANGEMENT
I
Figure 1. Token from Appendix A, NFPA No. 704M. Thisflgure and Figure 3 used with the permission me N.,~~o"oI ~ i , =pmtection ~ ~ o ~ i o t i ~ n .
CLINICAL LABORATORY
H O U S E K E E P I N G DEPT.
(Sulfuric Acid)
( M e t h y l Alcohol)
F L A M M A B L E ANESTHETICS STORAGE Figure 2.
(diethylether)
ISOTOPE LABORATORY
PAINT SHOP
STOREROOM
(Lerquer Thinner)
(collodion)
NFPA No. 704M gignals for typical hospital areas.
four symbols which are color coded and arranged in diamond shape (Fig. 1). The left symbol is blue (or on 8. blue background). I t designates emergency hazard to health. The tap symbol is red and designates flammability hazard. The right signal is yellow and designates reactivity (i.e., instability). The bottom space is white, and blank (no symbol) unless some special hhilzard exists. Emergency hedth, flammability, and
violently with water, a "W" with a line through it is inserted (means use no water for fire fighting). The application of this system to a hospital involves little effort or expense, and will markedly enhance the protection of the various hospital areas in the event of a fire or other emergency. The hospital engineer may determine which symbols to apply after consultation with appropriate department heads,t repre-
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sentatives of the local fire prevention bureau, or both. I n this determination NFPA No. 49, Hazardous Chemicds Data, will be helpful. The symbols m e used to identify the most hazardous material present. Figure 2 shows symbols which may be typical of various hospital areas. Oxygen and nitrous oxide are not
Special hazard symbols are black on a white background. Suggested symbol ,size is given in Figure 3. The symbols may be painted directly on the item' of equipment or ingress door. They may be lettered on white card stock and appropriately mounted. Plastic numbers/ letters may be procured, appropriately colored and cemented onto sheet plastic. A kit containing decals also is available. A fifth dternativesymbols engraved on
CDLDR OF NUMERALS 1.2.3.4 SHOLLD IE AS INMCATEO
W
NOTE: STYLE OFNUMERALS SHOWKlS OPTIONAL
When Made From Adhelve-Backed Plnstlc (One for each numernl. three necessary for each com.1ete dgnnl)
Dimensions of White Background for Signals (White Background is Optional) IDENTIFICATION OF MATERIALS BY HAZARD SIGNAL DIMENSIONS
A 6 7%
10 15
3%
5
7%
.MI Dimensions Given in Inches Figure 3.
Recommended symbol sires.
Taken from Appendix A, NFPA No. 704M.
eonsidered hazardous e h e m i c ~ l ~ ,The venting of a cylinder of either gas under fire conditions, however, will markedly increase the combustibility of the substances present which will burn. .Hence we rank oxidizing gas storage areas as having a "3" flammability rating. Once the haaard ratings of each hospital area me determined, each should be identified with the appropriate hszsrd signal. Health and flammability hitssrd symbols may be blue and red, respectively, on a white heckground, or white on bloe and red bsckgrounds. Reactivity symbols may be yellow on s white background or black on a yellow background.
laminated plastic squares-was employed by us because of access to an engraving machine. We utilized blue, red, yellow, and white squares of lsminated sheet formica measuring 2 X 2 in. Engraved with 7/8 in. letters, these squares then were affixed to a 4 . X 4 in. sheet of white acrylic, using an appropriate adhesive, such as plsstic resin glue. The finished symbols then were affixed to ingress doors or doorways to the meas so identified (Fig. 4). For clarity, we employed red and blue sheets laminated on white (white letters, colored background) and yellow and white sheets laminated on black (Conlinued on page A618) Circle NL I11 on Readers' Service Card
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BIBLIOGRAPHY (1) NFPA No. 704M. "A Recommended System
(black letters, yellow or white hackground). This system offers a simple, inexpensive, and legible method of identifying any and all hospital area? which contain hazardous substances or equipment. A svmhol '1%in. tall is clearlv legible 40 ft away (ice table, lower lek hand corner, Fig. 1).
for the Identifioation of Fire Hazards of Materials" Available far 75t from the Nstional Fire Protection Association, 80 Bstterymsroh St., Boston, Maas. 02110.
Editor's NoM:
At the 1970 Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association, the following language was added to the NFPA Safety Standard for Hospital Laboratories-NFPA No. 56C:
Identification of Hazards
Figwe 4. Application of emergency hazard ~ i ~ n ~to l sttoroge cabinet for flammable Veterans Adrninirtrotion Hogpitd.
We feel that all hospitals should adopt this signal system. (The NFPA Committee on Hospitals at its meeting September 14, 1969, voted to make this system mandatory for hospital lahora todes, via. NFPA No. 56C, and to recommend its use in mesthetiling areas and inhalation therapy frtcilities, via NFPA Nos. 56 and 56B.) With this system in use the special hazards of each hospital area are called t o the attention of all, not only t o fire service personnel, but also to hospital personnel who must handle these substmces and mruterials daily.
All doors leading t o laboratories in hospitals (and other health-related facilities) shall be marked with the emblem described in NFPA Standard No. 704M, to indicate the fire hazards of materials intended to he used within this area. It shall be the duty of the laboratory safety officer to assure periodically that the emblem properly indicates the nature of the materials being used within the identified space. I t shall he the duty of the senior person responsible for activities in respective laboratory area9 to inform the laboratory safety officer bf changes in protocol and procedures that involve variations in the fire hazards of materials used in individual spaces. Laboratory shall mean, for the purpose of this Standard, s. room or group of contiguous rooms intended to serve activities involving procedures for investigation, diagnosis, or treatment in which flammable, cambustihle, or otherwise hazardous materials are to be used. Excluded from this definition are: Clinical service area? not using hazardous materials; and those facilities excluded by the definition of Hospital Laboratory.
ldenlifieation of Dearee of Hazards Identifiestion of health hazard Color node: B L U G -
-
Identifloation of reactivity (Stability) Color -0ode: YELI.OIV--
Identification of Asmmability code: RED--
-Color
s i p"&I -
susoeptibility qf materials t o burnine.
Signal
-
Susceptibility t o release of energy
Materials ,\.hioh , d l rapid15r 9 Msterisls which in themselves are resdily eapsble of or c~mpletelyvaporize a t detonation or of ex~losive a t m o s ~ l ~ e r i o , ~ r e s s snd ure denomposition or ieaetion normal amhzent tema t normal temperatures and p e r + ~ or ~ which arp pressures readily dispersed in an and which \ n I I burn resdily 3 Liquids and eolids t h a t osn 3 he ignited under almost ali smhient temperature oonditionr
4
3 Msterids which on short expoaure could oauae serious temporary or residual injury even though prompt treatment were glren
2
Materials which on intense or oontinued exposure oould cause temporsry inospscitation or possibls residual injnry unless prompt , mediosl treatment is gwen
1
Materials which on exposure would cause irritation but only minor residual i"jury eyen if no treatment 1s
0
2
Materials that must be moderately heated or exposed to relhtirely high ambient temperatures before ignition can omur
2
1 Msteriala thht must be p r e 1 Materials vhieh in themselves are normally stahle, but heated before ignition wirioi~oan become unstahle CB" ODDUI a t elevated temperatures and pressures or rrhiolr may given react rvith ,rater With some release of energy but not violently Materiala which an exposure 0 Meterials thht will not 0 Materials vhieh in themselves are normally stable, even under fire conditions would burn under fire exposure eondioffer no harsrd beyond that tions, and which are not of ordinary combustible resotive With wster msteriai
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