NFPA

704
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Standard System for the
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Identification of the DP
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Hazards of Materials
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for Emergency Response

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 704-1

Copyright © 2020 National Fire Protection Association®. All Rights Reserved.

NFPA® 704

Standard System for the

Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response

2022 Edition

This edition of NFPA 704, Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency
Response, was prepared by the Technical Committee on Classification and Properties of Hazardous

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Chemical Data. It was issued by the Standards Council on October 14, 2020, with an effective date of
November 3, 2020, and supersedes all previous editions.

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This edition of NFPA 704 was approved as an American National Standard on November 3, 2020.

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Origin and Development of NFPA 704

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Work on this standard originated in 1957. A great deal of the development work had been done
by the NFPA Sectional Committee on Classification, Labeling, and Properties of Flammable Liquids

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starting in 1952. Background data were published by the association in its quarterly magazine in

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1954, 1956, and 1958. The material in its present form was first tentatively adopted in 1960. Official
adoption was secured in 1961, and revisions were adopted in 1964, 1966, 1969, 1975, 1980, and 1985.

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In the 1987 and 1990 editions, the Committee on Fire Hazards of Materials introduced quantitative
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guidelines for assigning the Health Hazard and Reactivity Hazard Ratings. The 1996 edition
introduced additional quantitative guidelines and an amended definition for instability hazard rating,
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formerly reactivity hazard rating.
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The 2001 edition clarified numerous topics, including the following: rating of mixtures; three
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options of how to rate areas with multiple chemical storage and use; location of signs; more
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quantitative criteria for flammability ratings for solids; and quantitative criteria for a flammability
rating of zero, including introduction of a new test method. Guidance material was added for
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quantifying the degree of water reactivity. An annex was added to cover water reactivity and
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identification criteria, as well as additional information on flash point test methods.

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The 2007 edition clarified topics including the special hazards quadrant and placement and
hierarchy of symbols. The new simple asphyxiant (SA) designation and other optional symbols, as
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well as requirements for the classification of flammability rating for dusts, were added.
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The 2012 edition included reinstatement of the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) hazard
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criterion to Table 7.2 as well as new guidance on the flammability hazard classification for aerosol
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products. The 2012 edition also included new text in Table 6.2 that emphasized the use of Annex D
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to classify the flammability hazard of a finely divided solid.

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In 2017 information related to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) exotherm onset

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temperature criteria was removed from Table 7.2. Chapter 8 was modified to require the use of the
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SA symbol for liquefied carbon dioxide vapor withdrawal systems and where large quantities of dry
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ice are used in confined areas. Annex G was added to explain key differences between the OSHA
HazCom 2012 and NFPA 704. Annex H was added to provide sample placards that can be extracted
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into emergency response publications and training materials.

The 2022 edition of the standard includes revisions to Figures 9.1(b) and 9.1(c) that provide
guidance on NFPA 704 placard and numeral dimension and size requirements.

NFPA and National Fire Protection Association are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169.
704-2 IDENTIFICATION OF THE HAZARDS OF MATERIALS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Technical Committee on Classification and Properties of Hazardous Chemical Data

Ron A. Kirsch, Chair
OHS Associates, Inc., TN [SE]

Robert A. Michaels, Secretary

RAM TRAC Corporation, NY [SE]

Christopher Allen, Montgomery County Government, MD [E] Christopher M. Platz, Abington Township, PA [E]
Jason Beam, CCB, Inc., ME [U] Brian Primeau, MIT Lincoln Labs, MA [RT]
David L. Bowman, Bowman Global Enterprise Group, FL [SE] Mark L. Robin, Chemours, DE [M]
Laurence G. Britton, Process Safety Consultant, WV [SE] William J. Satterfield, III, Hydrogen Safety, LLC/Rode & Associates,
Laura Draelos, Sandia National Laboratories, NM [U] LLC, RI [I]
Nelson C. Dunston, Laboratory Corporation of America, NC [RT] Stephen Sides, American Coatings Association, DC [M]
David W. Hollinger, Drexel University, PA [U] James O. Vigerust, Jr., CB&I, NM [SE]

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Caroline Miller, UL LLC/ChemADVISOR, Inc., NY [SE] David B. Wechsler, Consultant, TX [U]
Rep. American Chemistry Council

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Robert A. Nocco, Chevron, CA [U]
Cynthia J. Wernet, The Boeing Company, CA [U]
Brian Ott, Exponent, CA [SE]

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Rep. NFPA Industrial Fire Protection Section
Nissan Patel, Jefferson Parish Fire Services, LA [E]

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Ryan Wyse, Hebron Fire Department, OH [E]
David T. Phelan, Township of North Bergen - NJ, NJ [E]

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Alternates

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Karl Leipold, AIG Energy & Engineered Risk, MD [I] Brenda Prine, Elora, ON, Canada [SE]

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(Voting Alt.) (Alt. to Laurence G. Britton)

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Nonvoting

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Jennifer H. Lawless, US Department of Labor, DC [E]
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Lawrence Russell, NFPA Staff Liaison
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This list represents the membership at the time the Committee was balloted on the final text of this edition.
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Since that time, changes in the membership may have occurred. A key to classifications is found at the
back of the document.
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NOTE: Membership on a committee shall not in and of itself constitute an endorsement of

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the Association or any document developed by the committee on which the member serves.
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Committee Scope: This Committee shall have primary responsibility for documents on the
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classification of the relative hazards of all chemical solids, liquids and gases and to compile
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data on the hazard properties of these hazardous chemicals.

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2022 Edition
 CONTENTS 704-3

Contents

Chapter 1 Administration ............................................ 704– 4 7.2 Degrees of Hazard. .............................................. 704– 10

1.1 Scope. ................................................................... 704– 4
1.2 Purpose. ............................................................... 704– 4 Chapter 8 Special Hazards ........................................... 704– 11
1.3 Application. .......................................................... 704– 4 8.1 General. ................................................................ 704– 11
1.4 Retroactivity. ......................................................... 704– 4 8.2 Symbols. ............................................................... 704– 11
1.5 Equivalency. ......................................................... 704– 4
Chapter 9 Identification of Materials by Hazard
Chapter 2 Referenced Publications ............................ 704– 4 Rating System .............................................. 704– 11
2.1 General. ................................................................ 704– 4 9.1 Symbol Arrangement. ......................................... 704– 11
2.2 NFPA Publications. .............................................. 704– 5
Annex A Explanatory Material .................................. 704– 13
2.3 Other Publications. ............................................. 704– 5
2.4 References for Extracts in Mandatory Annex B Health Hazard Rating ................................. 704– 16
Sections. .............................................................. 704– 5
Annex C Flammability ................................................ 704– 18

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Chapter 3 Definitions ................................................... 704– 5

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3.1 General. ................................................................ 704– 5 Annex D Combustible Dusts ...................................... 704– 18
3.2 NFPA Official Definitions. .................................. 704– 5

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3.3 General Definitions. ............................................ 704– 5 Annex E Instability, Thermal Hazard Evaluation

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Techniques .................................................. 704– 19
Chapter 4 General ........................................................ 704– 5

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4.1 Description. .......................................................... 704– 5 Annex F Water Reactivity Identification Criteria ..... 704– 21

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4.2 Assignment of Ratings. ........................................ 704– 6
Annex G Comparison of NFPA 704 Numerical
4.3 Location of Signs. ................................................ 704– 6

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Hazard Rating with OSHA’s Hazard

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Chapter 5 Health Hazards ........................................... 704– 6 Classification System .................................. 704– 23
5.1 General. ................................................................ 704– 6

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Annex H Sample NFPA 704 Placard Information
5.2 Degrees of Hazard. .............................................. 704– 6

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for Use in Safety Publications .................... 704– 23
Chapter 6 Flammability Hazards ................................. 704– 9 P
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Annex I Informational References .......................... 704– 27
6.1 General. ................................................................ 704– 9
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6.2 Degrees of Hazard. .............................................. 704– 9 Index ..................................................................... 704– 29

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6.3 Aerosols. ............................................................... 704– 10

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Chapter 7 Instability Hazards ...................................... 704– 10

7.1 General. ................................................................ 704– 10
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2022 Edition
704-4 IDENTIFICATION OF THE HAZARDS OF MATERIALS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE

NFPA 704 1.2.3 This system shall provide basic information to fire-
fighting, emergency, and other personnel, enabling them to
Standard System for the easily decide whether to evacuate the area or to commence
emergency control procedures.
Identification of the Hazards of Materials for 1.2.4 This system also shall provide those personnel with infor‐
Emergency Response mation to assist in selecting fire-fighting tactics and emergency
procedures.
2022 Edition 1.2.5 Local conditions can have a bearing on evaluation of
hazards; therefore, discussion shall be kept in general terms.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This NFPA document is made available for
use subject to important notices and legal disclaimers. These notices 1.3 Application.
and disclaimers appear in all publications containing this document 1.3.1 This standard shall apply to industrial, commercial, and
and may be found under the heading “Important Notices and institutional facilities that manufacture, process, use, or store
Disclaimers Concerning NFPA Standards.” They can also be viewed hazardous materials.

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at www.nfpa.org/disclaimers or obtained on request from NFPA.
1.3.2* This standard shall not apply to transportation or use

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UPDATES, ALERTS, AND FUTURE EDITIONS: New editions of
NFPA codes, standards, recommended practices, and guides (i.e., by the general public and is not intended to address the follow‐

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NFPA Standards) are released on scheduled revision cycles. This ing:

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edition may be superseded by a later one, or it may be amended (1) Occupational exposure
outside of its scheduled revision cycle through the issuance of Tenta‐ (2) Explosive and blasting agents, including commercial

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tive Interim Amendments (TIAs). An official NFPA Standard at any explosive material as defined in NFPA 495

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point in time consists of the current edition of the document, together (3) Chemicals whose only hazard is one of chronic health

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with all TIAs and Errata in effect. To verify that this document is the hazards
current edition or to determine if it has been amended by TIAs or

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(4) Teratogens, mutagens, oncogens, etiologic agents, and
Errata, please consult the National Fire Codes® Subscription Service other similar hazards

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or the “List of NFPA Codes & Standards” at www.nfpa.org/docinfo.

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In addition to TIAs and Errata, the document information pages also 1.4 Retroactivity. The provisions of this standard reflect a
include the option to sign up for alerts for individual documents and P
consensus of what is necessary to provide an acceptable degree
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of protection from the hazards addressed in this standard at
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to be involved in the development of the next edition.
NOTICE: An asterisk (*) following the number or letter the time the standard was issued.
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designating a paragraph indicates that explanatory material on

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1.4.1 Unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this stand‐

the paragraph can be found in Annex A. ard shall not apply to facilities, equipment, structures, or instal‐
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A reference in brackets [ ] following a section or paragraph lations that existed or were approved for construction or
indicates material that has been extracted from another NFPA
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installation prior to the effective date of the standard. Where

document. Extracted text may be edited for consistency and specified, the provisions of this standard shall be retroactive.
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style and may include the revision of internal paragraph refer‐

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ences and other references as appropriate. Requests for inter‐ 1.4.2 In those cases where the authority having jurisdiction
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pretations or revisions of extracted text shall be sent to the determines that the existing situation presents an unacceptable
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technical committee responsible for the source document. degree of risk, the authority having jurisdiction shall be permit‐
Information on referenced and extracted publications can ted to apply retroactively any portions of this standard deemed
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be found in Chapter 2 and Annex I. appropriate.

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1.4.3 The retroactive requirements of this standard shall be

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Chapter 1 Administration permitted to be modified if their application clearly would be

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impractical in the judgment of the authority having jurisdiction

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1.1 Scope. This standard shall address the health, flammabil‐ and only where it is clearly evident that a reasonable degree of
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ity, instability, and related hazards that are presented by short- safety is provided.
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term, acute exposure to a material under conditions of fire,

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1.5 Equivalency. Nothing in this standard is intended to

spill, or similar emergencies.
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prevent the use of systems, methods, or devices of equivalent or

1.2 Purpose. superior quality, strength, fire resistance, effectiveness, durabil‐
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ity, and safety over those prescribed by this standard.

1.2.1 This standard shall provide a simple, readily recognized,
and easily understood system of markings that provides a 1.5.1 Technical documentation shall be submitted to the
general idea of the hazards of a material and the severity of authority having jurisdiction to demonstrate equivalency.
these hazards as they relate to emergency response.
1.5.2 The system, method, or device shall be approved for the
1.2.2 The objectives of the system shall be as follows: intended purpose by the authority having jurisdiction.
(1) To provide an appropriate signal or alert and on-the-spot
information to safeguard the lives of both public and Chapter 2 Referenced Publications
private emergency response personnel
(2) To assist in planning for effective fire and emergency 2.1 General. The documents or portions thereof listed in this
control operations, including cleanup chapter are referenced within this standard and shall be
(3) To assist all designated personnel, engineers, and plant considered part of the requirements of this document.
and safety personnel in evaluating hazards

2022 Edition Shaded text = Revisions. Δ = Text deletions and figure/table revisions. • = Section deletions. N = New material.