Job Aid: DOT Labels

Purpose: Use this job aid to learn about several examples of Department of Transportation (DOT) labels.

The DOT requires specific labels for hazardous substances shipped by public highways, water, rail, or airfreight.

The DOT labels for poison gas, non-flammable gas, explosive, corrosive, spontaneously combustible, poison, flammable liquid, radioactive, flammable gas, flammable solid, oxidizer, and infectious substance display.

A selection of DOT labels

DOT label descriptions
Image	Label	Symbol	Color	Meaning
A	Poison Gas (gas or liquid)	Skull and crossbones	White	A very small amount of the gas or vapor of the liquid mixed with air is dangerous to life.
B	Non-flammable Gas	Gas canister	Green	Any compressed gas other than a flammable compressed gas.
C	Explosives (all classes)	Explosion	Orange	Any chemical compound, mixture, or device that causes a sudden, almost instantaneous release of energy, pressure, gas, and heat when subjected to sudden pressure, shock, or high temperature.
D	Corrosive	Objects being damaged	White above and black below	A liquid or solid that causes visible destruction or irreversible damage to human skin tissue on contact.
E	Spontaneously Combustible	Flames	White above and red below	A substance that may undergo spontaneous treating or self-ignition under normal transportation conditions.
F	Poison	Skull and crossbones	White	Substances, liquid or solid, so toxic to humans that they are a hazard to health during transportation.
G	Flammable Liquid	Flames	Red	Any liquid having a flash point below 100°F.
H	Radioactive (all classes)	International radioactivity symbol	Yellow above and white below	Any material or combination of materials that spontaneously gives off ionizing radiation.
I	Flammable Gas	Flames	Red	Any gas meeting the lower flammability limit, flammability limit range, or flame projection range for flame propagation.
J	Flammable Solid	Flames	Red and white vertical stripes	Any solid having a flash point below 100°F.
K	Oxidizer and Organic Peroxide	Burning O	Yellow	A substance such as chlorate, permanganate, inorganic peroxide, or a nitrate that yields oxygen readily to simulate the combustion of organic matter.
L	Infectious Substance	A symbol of three equal rings centered over a fourth ring	Black on white	A substance that can cause infection with a biologically hazardous material.

Course: Hazard Communication: An Employee's Right to Know
Topic: Warning Labels