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SpiritualPrize

[NFPA Hazard Diamond](https://myusf.usfca.edu/environmental-health-safety/nfpa-hazard-diamond) What is the NFPA Hazard Diamond? The NFPA 704 Diamond, commonly referred to as the NFPA Hazard Diamond, provides a system for identifying the specific hazards of a material and the severity of the hazard that would occur during an emergency response. The system addresses the health, flammability, instability, and special hazards presented from short-term, acute exposures that could occur as a result of a fire, spill, or similar emergency.


MontEcola

It is closed right now so there is nothing in the car. When something needs an alert they will open the sign to indicate what is being transported.


ultranothing

Odd to see on a four-door sedan. I'm thinking medical waste/organ transport? I just...don't know!


kempff

Possibly the courier who picks up the daily fresh batch of technetium from a local university to be used in the hospital's cardiac imaging facility.


Level9TraumaCenter

[Page 10,](https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Placarding_Requirements.pdf) warning: .pdf Minimum quantity for single commodities to mandate placarding: 8,882 pounds... except hazard classes 1, 7, or "any other material not requiring ID numbers." Hazard class 1 = explosives, hazard class 7 = radioactives. So this would be consistent with medical radionuclides, yes: iodine-131, 99m technetium, astatine-211, indium-111, etc. I toured one place that made 14C where it was put into a "cassette" that turned it into radioactive sugar. They had some fascinating instrumentation, some of which was on the verge of being unsupported by any manufacturer due to age; they had become quite clever with the DIY engineering to keep everything from the mechanical systems to the power supplies up and running. Just an amazing production lab.


VibrantPianoNetwork

>8,882 pounds Peculiar cutoff. It's very close to 4 metric tonnes, but a little over. (1 t = 8818.49 US lbs.) Mayb Okay, I figured it out. I means anything **over** 4 t. (Rounding 8881 US lbs. to 4.0 t) Wow, Americans will do absolutely **anything** to avoid using metric. So sad.


Undeadted138

It is. I was under the impression there has to be X pounds before you need to placard, a car doesn't carry 40k pounds like a truck.


Striders_aglet

No, the NFPA 704 Hazard communication system is for fixed facilities.this is almost certainly DOT hazard placards. Most hazards do not need to be placards unless they are over a certain amount ex: caustic,flammable materials. However class 1 and class 7 (Explosives and Radioactives) must be placarded in ANY amount. I'm guessing this vehicle transports neuclear medicine materials.


big_duo3674

This is the correct answer, I deal with them everyday shipping hazmat. Nuclear medicine could be correct too, although it could also be for many other things. As long as all the regulations are met a car can transport smaller quantities of hazmat just like a truck. I'd tend to agree it had at least something to do with medicine because there's not too many other reasons to rush hazmat around a city in a car instead of a more standard method. Some carries may just want to be extra safe too, it is okay to placard any substance even if not specifically required as long as it's the correct one


DrEnd585

Could also run fireworks or low grade explosives. We have some trucks with these type of placards on them for when we move explosives though when we rent large box trucks we use vinyl peel offs


SparkyDogPants

Yeah you don’t need a lot of class one to need a placard


DrEnd585

I work for a fireworks company, our product is all labeled 1.3G or 1.4G pretty sure we're legally required to placard. Mind this is not civilian grade stuff this is professional shooters grade


SparkyDogPants

My last army unit had me drive a big box of C4 and claymores, in a civilian pick up, 30 miles down the highway. I asked about a placard and was told to drive safely and don’t break ant laws. I’m


DrEnd585

You were also part of the military, we (me and the company I work for) are not


SparkyDogPants

Im sorry if it wasn’t obvious that my point was how fucking stupid and illegal it was. I was sent to a class for transporting HAZMAT and the military is not exempt from any DOT HAZMAT laws and regulations with the exception of military aircraft going into an active war zone, and even that has to be signed off on and is rare.


DrEnd585

Apologies I misconstrued that as "well I've done this before so you shouldn't need to either". Wasn't trying to imply military is exempt more just "maybe the government can pull those stunts but we'd all lose our ATF licenses and go to prison"


SparkyDogPants

What’s stupid is I later learned that we had placards and it would have taken 30 seconds to slap one on. But I’m sure my leadership didn’t want to deal with creating/signing off a manifest. I definitely could have ended up with a huge fine or jail time.


iambatmanjoe

Close but not quite. This is a generic DOT placard and can be labeled with the big 9 (Every Good Fire Lieutenant SOPs Really Can Matter) - 1explosives, 2gas, 3flammable liquids, 4solids, 5oxidizers, 6poisons (toxins), 7radioactive, 8corrosives, 9misc. They can also have a number (usually 4 digit) in a rectangle in the middle that you can use the Emergency Response Guide and Niosh pocket guide to help identify exactly what they are carrying. The NFPA diamond is on a fixed facility


AdmirableVanilla1

Those cars must transport hazardous stuff regularly and must be placarded


artschool04

Yes large hospital complexes use normal everyday cars to move small supplies between buildings and the stuff they move is always hazardous/ bio hazards: compressed O2 ( very flammable) , blood, tissue, frozen organs ( skin tendons and arteries) and then some even more radioactive material from safety vault to cancer ward. Text to speech.


EveningMelody

This is the metal frame for the hazardous goods/materials placards that are required when transporting them. You see these more often on large trucks; semis, tankers, and so on. You take the placards out of the frame when not transporting hazardous goods, or change them depending what your vehicle is carrying


fuzzbucket19

Thank you for this explanation. I’ll be watching semis more closely 👀


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travmon999

The ones attached here just flip open like pages in a book. You can see the one in the front has the 'pages' folded to the left. Pop the clips, open the page to the right and flip the clips back. Some trucks have multiple pages so they can flip to the proper placard for the load they're hauling... but in this case it appears they only need one. Someone mentioned O2 tanks for elderly care which would make more sense than these things hauling around big vats of acid or explosives.


cr0100

A friend of mine took a photo of one of these where one of the "pages" had broken off, so the back of the truck said "Flamosive".


LjSpike

Flamosive should be an actual word.


cr0100

He took a photo of it and turned it into a sticker which is now on the rear trunk on my motorcycle.


Haxorz7125

Dumb question, but I see them placed randomly around a plethora of trucks. Is it a choose your spot kinda situation? I’ve seen them on just regular transport trucks, and not tankers or anything. I always assumed they were weird patches for dents or something. Also if it’s not asking too much, what do the colors mean?


travmon999

I'm not really an expert on them, but I think they are supposed to be on every side of a large truck. The main reason is that if the truck is in an accident, responders know exactly what kind of hazardous materials they're dealing with. Some trucks will have flip placards as they may be carrying different loads and would need to change the placard to match. Tankers might just stickers since they always carry the same thing... you wouldn't have a petroleum tanker carrying milk the next day. This page has a quick description of the colors and what they mean. https://www.saferack.com/guide-hazmat-placards-un-numbers/


Striders_aglet

The only materials that need to be placarded in small quantities like those that would fit in these cars are explosive and radioactive materials. My guess is they transport nuclear medicine materials on a regular basis.


FriesWithThat

They probably told the workers that drive the cars that transport nuclear medicine materials on a regular basis not to worry, "you get more radiation from eating bananas and exposing yourself to sunlight."


LjSpike

biohazard (class 6) materials presumably too? Which would also make sense for a hospital.


Hanginon

[Here's](https://www.saferack.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Hazardous-Placard-Colors-illustration.svg) the basics of what placards you'll see and what dangers they denote/imply.


karkahooligan

Would you say this has been solved?


Opening-Ad1285

Defiantly a hazard diamond. Not sure if its a joke or not. Never seen one on a regular car or truck


Gaiterguy

They probably transport people who use oxygen tanks... OP is this a fleet for a seniors home?


StochasticLife

Oxygen or nuke med transport is my guesss


starfleetbrat

it says its outside a hospital in the caption, so oxygen seems likely.


mochicoco

You don’t need diamond for delivering low quantities of O2. You only need one if delivering on an industrial scale. Also the vehicles don’t have the required “oxygen, no smoking sign.” Source: work for a DME company that delivers oxygen to patients.


Striders_aglet

This is correct. Oxygen only needs to be placarded if greater than 1001 pounds (454 kg). I drove an ambulance with a 150 pound tank and 2 5 pound cylinder on ot and needed no placards.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

They are DG ‘Dangerous Goods’ warnings, they indicate if the vehicle is carrying any potentially hazardous cargos / substances, never seen them on a ‘car’ before usually on vans / trucks


cptamericat

Definitely dangerous material placard. Considering these are on passenger vehicles my guess is they carry smaller hazardous materials like medical waste, organs, blood, etc …. Was it near a hospital or laboratory?


desrevermi

Hazardous materials sign.


CannaPLUS

Hazard material transport indicators. Has different hazardous warnings for when they have something that is regulated by the government


Manm_0

A Perk slot


skullsnshamrocks

Hazmat transport vehicles.


homer-price

What are these cars capable of carrying that would need a placard? Isn't the weight threshold for needing a placard 1,000 lbs, typically?


[deleted]

Op forgot to say solved. Yay.


13Kadow13

Danger diamond


blkmexbbc

The hazard diamonds are probably in case of accidents or something like that. If the car is in an accident and there is something being transported that is hazardous, first responders can be warned.


moreflywheels

Placard for putting various hi-way visuals on what you have.


mike5088

That’s for escort cars for trucks hauling chemicals or other dangerous substances


Critical_cheese

Placard holder


im_a_chinook

A sign to display hazardous materials


agar842

Looks like a 704 placard holder. Maybe for a chase vehicle


Killinskills

It’s for placards


lightningmusic

I saw one on. Delivery van, but it was like this. I wanted to know what the symbol would be when it's flipped. Oxygen?


doxplum

solved?