WASHINGTON -- The Department of Transportation (DOT) has stated that it opposes a European Union (EU) plan to require the use of a diamond-shaped sign for identifying chemical hazards in the workplace. However, the Agency recently announced that it was undertaking a “human factors” study to determine if wider use of the proposed sign is safe and economically feasible.
Although a diamond-shaped sign is the international standard for labeling acute, imminent hazards in the transportation of dangerous goods, many European countries now want to expand its use to identify hazardous materials in transportation, worker protection, and consumer safety situations. The United Nations Subcommittee on Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods adopted the proposal in July. The full Committee was expected to approve the proposal during meetings held last week.
DOT has opposed the proposal because many U.S. hazardous materials (hazmat) transporters believe that a broader use of the symbol would both confuse and delay hazmat transporters and emergency responders. The study will help determine whether workers and emergency response personnel can distinguish between substances that cause an imminent threat to health and safety and those that are likely to harm people through chronic exposure.
