How to Read Material Safety Data Sheets
Names
Period
Date
Understanding Chemical Hazard Labels and MSDS
OBJECTIVE: To read and interpret chemical hazard labels and MSDS. MATERIALS: How to read a Chemical Label MSDS - Acetone PROCEDURE: Use the documents listed above to answer the following questions. 1. Interpret colors on a chemical hazard label. The following colors on a chemical label alert a user regarding what hazards? a. red b. yellow c. blue d. white 2. Interpret numbers on a chemical hazard label. a. A number ____ is the most serious, and a number ____ is the least serious. b. What does the number four on a red background indicate to the user? c. What does the number zero on a yellow background mean?
3. Complete the following for acetone: a. Fill in the appropriate NFPA hazard coding colors and numbers on the label above. b. Complete the missing information on the MSDS on the back of this page. 4. What does MSDS stand for? 5. What information do the chemical hazard label and MSDS have in common?
6. Why should an individual working with chemicals understand the hazard coding system on a chemical label?
7. What additional information provided on an MSDS might be of use to an individual working with chemicals?
How to read a Chemical Label
Hazardous materials should always be properly labeled. One common type of label is the US National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) system. Although they look rather simplistic, an NFPA label carries a lot of information for those who understand how to interpret it. For example, NFPA labels are colorcoded. Each color on the label represents a different type of hazard.
EXAMPLE Blue = Health hazard Red = Fire hazard Yellow = Reactivity hazard White = Special hazard
What these colors represent must be remembered first. On top of the color coding, NFPA also uses a numbering system. On every NFPA label, there should be a number from zero to four inside the blue, red and yellow areas. The numbers indicate the degree of a particular hazard.
Period
Date
Understanding Chemical Hazard Labels and MSDS
OBJECTIVE: To read and interpret chemical hazard labels and MSDS. MATERIALS: How to read a Chemical Label MSDS - Acetone PROCEDURE: Use the documents listed above to answer the following questions. 1. Interpret colors on a chemical hazard label. The following colors on a chemical label alert a user regarding what hazards? a. red b. yellow c. blue d. white 2. Interpret numbers on a chemical hazard label. a. A number ____ is the most serious, and a number ____ is the least serious. b. What does the number four on a red background indicate to the user? c. What does the number zero on a yellow background mean?
3. Complete the following for acetone: a. Fill in the appropriate NFPA hazard coding colors and numbers on the label above. b. Complete the missing information on the MSDS on the back of this page. 4. What does MSDS stand for? 5. What information do the chemical hazard label and MSDS have in common?
6. Why should an individual working with chemicals understand the hazard coding system on a chemical label?
7. What additional information provided on an MSDS might be of use to an individual working with chemicals?
How to read a Chemical Label
Hazardous materials should always be properly labeled. One common type of label is the US National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) system. Although they look rather simplistic, an NFPA label carries a lot of information for those who understand how to interpret it. For example, NFPA labels are colorcoded. Each color on the label represents a different type of hazard.
EXAMPLE Blue = Health hazard Red = Fire hazard Yellow = Reactivity hazard White = Special hazard
What these colors represent must be remembered first. On top of the color coding, NFPA also uses a numbering system. On every NFPA label, there should be a number from zero to four inside the blue, red and yellow areas. The numbers indicate the degree of a particular hazard.