The Manufacturing Chemists Association operates CHEMTREC 24 hours a day. By calling the appropriate toll-free number listed below, one can consult experts on chemicals and spill response.

4.2 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

The NFPA's " Recommended System for the Identification of the Fire Hazards of Materials" (NFPA No. 704M) provides basic warning information to fire fighter in industrial plants and storage facilities. This system uses a diamond-shaped warning symbol. The top, left, and right boxes refer to flammability, health, and reactivity hazards respectively and contain a number from 0 to 4. The exact meaning of each number is explained in Section 3 (para 12.3) of this manual, and the applicable number for each chemical are listed in Section 11 under "NFPA Hazard Classifications." The bottom box is used for special hazards; the most common of these is a warning against the use of water, indicated by the symbol W.

4.3 International Maritime Organization (IMO)

Foreign vessels using U.S. waterways generally utilize, in addition to U.S. requirements, an international labeling system developed by IMO. This system consists of 15 diamond-shaped labels. Each identifies a particular hazard by a descriptive picture, a word, and a distinctive color.

The number at the bottom of each diamond identifies the class to which IMO has assigned the chemical and is the same as the first digit in the IMO/UN numerical designation, one of the items given under "Chemical Designations" in Section 11 of this manual.

4.4 Department Of Transportation (DOT)

The "1996 North American Emergency Response Guidebook" was developed by DOT as a guide for initial actions to be taken when handling incidents involving hazardous materials. The guidebook identifies the most significant potential hazards and gives information and guidance for initial actions to be taken based upon the material involved. Information can be located in the guidebook based upon chemical name or DOT Identification Number.

4.5 OHM-TADS (EPA)

The Oil and Hazardous Materials Technical Assistance Data System (OHM-TADS) has been developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide information on physical and chemical properties, hazards, pollution characteristics, and shipping information for over 1200 hazardous materials. OHM-TADS consists of a computerized data base which can be accessed from terminals at the 10 EPA Regional Offices, from EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and from Coast Guard Marine Safety Offices. The System can provide either information on specifically requested properties for a material, or it can print all the information in its files for that material.

Some of the same information appears in both this manual and OHM-TADS, but each contains some information not found in the other.

4.6 Poison Control Centers

Throughout the country, local Poison Control Centers are maintained at hospitals. These Centers can provide information on the chemical composition, appearance, and toxicity of common poisonous materials as well as information on the symptoms of exposure and on the emergency procedures recommended in the event of exposure. The information available at these centers deals mainly with common household materials.

Poison Control Centers are coordinated through the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., but information should be requested through the local centers.

The telephone number of the local Poison Control Center can be found in a local telephone directory.

4.7 Association Of American Railroads (AAR)