Flammable liquids present unique hazards to the people that use them. They can cause a fire or explosion, and like many other substances, they can also cause serious health effects from overexposure.
Flammable liquids have a flash point of less than 100oF. The flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapor to form a flammable mixture with air. On the NFPA diamond label, a fire hazard rating of three or four denotes a flammable liquid. Other labels used to identify flammable liquids are red with appropriate wording and usually contain a fire symbol.
The vapors of a flammable liquid often present the most serious hazard as they can easily ignite or explode. Flammable liquid vapors are heavier than air and may settle in low spots, or move a significant distance from the liquid itself.
The explosive concentration of vapors in air has a lower and upper limit. The lower explosive limit, or LEL, is the lowest concentration that will ignite. The upper explosive limit, or UEL, is the highest concentration that will ignite. If the vapor concentration is between the LEL and UEL, there is a serious risk of fire or explosion.
Flammable liquids also present health hazards from overexposure. The material safety data sheets (MSDS) for the material you're using will list the allowable exposures. Overexposures to flammable liquids can cause a variety of effects.
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Effects of Contamination
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Inhalation of flammable liquids can cause irritation to the respiratory passages, nausea, headaches, muscle weakness, drowsiness, loss of coordination, disorientation, confusion, unconsciousness, and death.
Skin contact with flammable liquids can cause the skin's oils to be removed, resulting in irritated, cracked, dry skin, rashes, and dermatitis.
Eye contact with flammable liquids can cause burning, irritation, and eye damage.
Ingestion of flammable liquids can irritate the digestive tract, cause poisoning, and death.
Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) can help prevent exposure to flammable liquids. Use PPE faithfully to protect your good health.
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Combustibles
Any combustible material (and some materials normally considered noncombustible) can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form. If such a dust is suspended in the air in the right concentration, it can become explosive. The force from such an explosion can cause employee deaths, injuries, and destruction of entire buildings. Such incidents have killed scores of employees and injured hundreds over the past few decades.
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Materials That May Form Combustible Dust Include
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 Metals (such as aluminum and magnesium), wood, coal, plastics, biosolids, sugar, paper, soap, dried blood, and certain textiles.
In many accidents, employers and employees were unaware that a hazard even existed.
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Industries That are Particularly Vulnerable to Combustible Dust Explosions Include
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Industries that are particularly vulnerable to combustible dust explosions are: food (e.g., candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed), grain, tobacco, plastics, wood, paper, pulp, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal, metals (e.g., aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, and zinc), and fossil fuel power generation.
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Flammables Deserve a Healthy Respect
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Both flammable liquids and combustible materials deserve a healthy respect. Careless mistakes and safety shortcuts can lead to serious problems when it comes to these materials as their hazards are deadly. When present in your workplace, be on guard against these hazards. Clas Consulting can aid in developing a safety program for your workplace including the safe handling of flammable materials. We can aid in the quantification of exposures, appropriate storage, handling procedures, etc. Additionally, our consultants can provide supervisor and worker safety training programs developed with your specific in mind.
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