Hazardous Substance! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Diamond

The NFPA 704 Hazard Identification System was developed by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) in order to display the various hazards (or lack of them) posed by materials. The purpose of this is to ensure that people are aware of the appropriate precautionary measures that must be taken. The system was originally developed in case of fire, but its uses extend beyond this. The system is one which is predominantly used in the USA, but is frequently seen elsewhere, particularly on imported chemicals and/or the vehicles carrying them.

The shape of it is in fact a diamond, subdivided into four individual diamonds. Each diamond is colour-coded and each displays a value awarded in four different sections:

Flammability,
Health,
Reactivity and
The last diamond displays additional properties when appropriate.

Answer: Red

Red, logically, represents flammability, or the readiness of a material to ignite. Hydrogen is very flammable, for instance, whereas nitrogen is not.

Answer: "[It] must be pre-heated before ignition can occur." Or it will only burn if it has been heated to an appropriate temperature

Antimony sulfide receives a value of "1" on the following flammability scale of the NFPA 704 Hazard Identification System, courtesy of:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html":

"0: Material will not burn".

"1: Material must be pre-heated before ignition can occur." Or it will only burn if it has been heated to an appropriate temperature.

"2: Material must be moderately heated or exposed to relatively high ambient temperature before ignition can occur". Or will burn, but only at a reasonably high temperature.

"3: Liquids and solids that can be ignited under almost all ambient temperature conditions." Or, it will burn under almost any surrounding temperature.

"4: Materials that will rapidly or completely vaporize at atmospheric pressure and normal ambient temperature, or that are readily dispersed in air and that will burn readily." Or it converts into a gas in normal conditions, or distributes in the air and burns easily.

Antimony sulfide is one of the primary ores of the metal antimony. Antimony can be alloyed to lead, in order to increase the durability of the metal and it is also used in batteries and flame-proof materials as well as being found in many artistic products. These products include paints and enamels, as well as many products related to pottery. Furthermore, it is used in diodes, which only allow current to flow through them in one direction; therefore, they are used in bridge rectifiers. Bridge rectifiers convert AC voltage, which has a constantly alternating value and direction, into DC voltage, which is constant. This is very useful, as components such as DC motors would simply perform a fraction of a rotation in one direction, before reversing, if operated on AC voltage. Diodes are also used to protect certain components from sudden increases in voltage (voltage spikes,) if this is necessary.

Antimony sulfide itself is used in vacuum deposition as a substrate. This means that a thin layer of a substance will build up on the antimony sulfide, due to condensation, when a vapour of this substance is fed into the chamber. This has a number of applications, including the construction of microchips.

(The quotations in the possible answers are also from:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html")

Answer: Blue

Blue represents the health hazards associated with substances. Hydrogen sulfide, for instance, is very toxic, whereas, again, nitrogen is not.

Answer: "On short exposure" it "could cause serious temporary or residual injury." Or, after a short amount of time it could cause a serious injury, which could be temporary, or permanent

Butyllithium has a value of "3" on this scale, which is again courtesy of:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html":

"0: Material that on exposure under fire conditions would offer no hazard beyond that of ordinary combustible material." Or, when burning, it would not cause any damage, beside the damage that would normally be caused by burning a substance, for example, the emission of oxides of the substances being burnt. For instance, if one was burning carbon, carbon dioxide would be released.

"1: Material that on exposure would cause irritation but only minor residual injury." Or, it would only cause irritation, and/or a small permanent injury, but nothing more.

"2: Material that on intense or continued but not chronic exposure could cause temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury." Or, after a long time, or after repeated exposure, but not both, it could cause temporary disabling, or even permanent injury.

"3: Material that on short exposure could cause serious temporary or residual injury." Or, after a short amount of time it could cause a serious injury, which could be temporary, or permanent.

"4: Material that on very short exposure could cause death or major residual injury." Or, after a very short amount of time, it could cause death or very serious, lasting injury.

Butyllithium is frequently used in the synthesis of artificial rubber.

(The quotations in the possible answers are also from:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html")

Answer: Yellow

Yellow represents reactivity, or the level of susceptibility of a material to undergo a chemical change. TNT, for instance, is very reactive, much unlike bromine.

Answer: "In itself" it "is readily capable of detonation or of explosive decomposition or reaction at normal temperatures and pressures." Or, under standard conditions it will detonate, or react or decompose into the substances which compose it, explosively

TNT has a value of "4" on the following scale, with thanks again to:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html":

"0: Material that in itself is normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water." Or, it is unreactive, even when exposed to fire and does not react with water.

"1: Material that in itself is normally stable, but which can become unstable at elevated temperatures and pressures." Or, it is normally unreactive, but may become reactive when heated and/or when exposed to increased pressure.

"2: Material that readily undergoes violent chemical change at elevated temperatures and pressures or which reacts violently with water or which may form explosive mixtures with water." Or, it reacts easily if heated, pressurised, added to water, or will form an explosive mixture with water.

"3: Material that in itself is capable of detonation or explosive decomposition or reaction but requires a strong initiating source or which must be heated under confinement before initiation or which reacts explosively with water." It will explode, decompose into its constituents explosively or react explosively, but must be pre-heated, or requires a powerful mechanism to do so. It can also mean that it will react explosively with water, as stated.

"4: Material that in itself is readily capable of detonation or of explosive decomposition or reaction at normal temperatures and pressures." Or, under standard conditions it will detonate, or react or decompose into the substances which compose it, explosively.

TNT is used as an explosive, due to its power and because it is easy to handle and to detonate. TNT stands for trinitrotoluene and it is composed of three NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) molecules and one methyl group (CH3) bonded to a benzene ring. The benzene ring is a ring of six carbons, each bonded to a hydrogen atom. However, in TNT, four of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by the nitrogen dioxide molecules and the methyl group, so that there are only two hydrogen atoms. Carbon has four electrons in its outer orbital, three of which are bonded in covalent bonds. This means that they are shared between carbon and the atom which it is bonded to. However, one electron from each carbon atom is left over, as it is only bonded to three atoms, or molecules. This forms two rings of three electrons, one above the molecule and one below.

(The quotations in the possible answers are also from:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html")

Answer: White

The white section will be filled with symbols which display additional properties that one may need to be aware of. There are only two official symbols, although "ACID" can be used to signify that the substance is acidic, "ALK" signifies that the substance is alkaline, "COR" indicates that the substance is corrosive and the symbol for radioactivity is used if the substance is radioactive. However, these are not required and may be omitted; the absence of these symbols does not necessarily suggest that the substance does not have these properties. Obviously, however, this may well be the case.

The first official symbol is a "W" with a line through it. This means that the "material shows unusual reactivity with water", or it may be dangerous to introduce this substance to water. The other symbol is "OX". "OX" means that the "material possesses oxidizing properties", or it will readily lose oxygen atoms, which would aid another material in burning. It may also do this throught the gain of electrons.

(Quotations courtesy of:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html")

Answer: It may be dangerous to introduce it to water, as it reacts with water in an unusual manner

As stated in the previous question a "W" with a line through it means that the "material shows unusual reactivity with water", or it may be dangerous to introduce this substance to water.

Titanium tetrachloride itself is a titanium atom bonded to four chlorine atoms and is used to produce titanium. Titanium is light and strong and is therefore used in aeroplanes and other vehicles, including boats, as it is resistant to corrosion by the sea water. Furthermore, it is safe for use in the human body, as it does not react. Consequently it is frequently used for artificial limbs and joints.

Titanium tetrachloride is also used to produce titanium dioxide, which is used as a pigment in some white paints.

(Quotations courtesy of:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html")

Answer: It is an oxidiser, or readily loses oxygen or gains electrons. This could aid a flammable substance in burning.

As stated in question eight OX" means that the "material possesses oxidizing properties", or it will readily lose oxygen atoms, which would aid another material in burning. It may also do this through the gain of electrons.

Barium chlorate is used to produce very bright lights for pyrotechnical uses. It is also used in the production of a number of explosives and matches.

(Quotations courtesy of:
"http://chemlabs.uoregon.edu/Safety/NFPA.html")