Hazardous Materials: Classes, Placards, Papers, and Parking
Colorado's Hazardous Materials test is 30 questions with 80% to pass, and the endorsement also requires a TSA threat assessment and background check. The test covers hazard classes, placarding, shipping papers, parking, and emergency response.
Classes and placards
The nine hazard classes are: 1 explosives, 2 gases, 3 flammable and combustible liquids, 4 flammable solids (including spontaneously combustible and dangerous-when-wet), 5 oxidizers and organic peroxides, 6 toxic and infectious substances, 7 radioactive, 8 corrosives, and 9 miscellaneous.
- Placards are generally required for 1,001 pounds or more of a hazard class in non-bulk packages, for bulk packages, and for any quantity of certain high-hazard materials.
- Placards go on both sides and both ends of the vehicle. If you need a placard, the shipping papers must match it.
Shipping papers
- Keep shipping papers within reach while driving - in a pouch on the driver's door or in clear view on the seat. When you leave the vehicle, leave them on the seat or in the pouch.
- They must include the hazard class, UN/NA number, proper shipping name, and the 24-hour emergency response phone number.
Parking and emergencies
- Under the manual's parking rules, do not park within 5 feet of the traveled portion of the road, and do not park within 300 feet of a bridge, tunnel, or railroad crossing.
- If a leak or spill occurs, park away from people, buildings, and traffic, stay upwind, warn others, and call for help. Do not smoke or allow flames near the vehicle.
Worked example
You load 1,500 pounds of Class 3 flammable liquid in non-bulk drums. Because the quantity is at or above 1,001 pounds, the vehicle must be placarded "Flammable" on both sides and both ends, and the shipping papers must show the UN number and proper shipping name. If the load were 900 pounds in non-bulk drums, no placard would be required for that class, though papers still travel with the load.
Traps
- Thinking any amount requires a placard - the 1,001-pound threshold applies unless the material is in bulk or is a high-hazard class.
- Placarding the sides but not the front and rear.
- Leaving shipping papers in the trailer or at the office.
- Parking beside the road for a break with a placarded load.