RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Have you ever looked at a product or material and wondered if it could be hazardous?
Air Force and federal regulations dictate that hazardous material, or HazMat, must be identified, authorized, and tracked. With so many sources available for purchasing material, users must be able to readily identify those that are hazardous.
Each shop is responsible for identifying HazMat items in their control, which puts tremendous responsibility on the hazardous material managers and the Government Purchase Card holders. Hazardous material managers must also obtain authorization to have, and use, these specific hazardous materials at their shop prior to purchase.
The basic categories of hazardous materials are chemicals, dyes, compressed or liquefied gas, pest control agents, cleaning and polishing compounds, paint, varnishes, sealing compounds, adhesives, waxes, oils, grease, and other petroleum based products. All of these materials are considered hazardous.
Flammable and corrosive labels or other warnings are obvious indicators that an item is hazardous, but not all HazMat is as easily seen this way. A good example is liquid ink cartridges for ink-jet printers. They are considered hazardous while toner cartridges for laser printers are not.
Correctly identifying hazardous material can sometimes be tricky, so if there's ever any question always err on the side of caution. For further information on HazMat identification or labeling, call 652-3062. The HazMat office is here to help!