55 gallon drum color classifications?

[TrainNut]

When putting items such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, oil, grease etc. into 55 gallon drums, is there a color classification system for the drums?
Example: Are all drums carrying Kerosene supposed to be white? etc. etc. etc.
If so, do you know which colors are associated with what?

 

[doctorwayne]

Well, I thought that there was, but according to a book called Fundamentals of Hazardous Materials Incidents, Page 113, there isn't. Btw, I got this by Googling "55 gallon drum colour coding". The only colour coding referred to is for compressed gas containers.



Wayne

 

[ezdays]

I did the same thing as Wayne and found, like 1929 Fords, you can get drums in any color that you like, but you had better like black, 'cause that's seems to be the most popular choice..... Someone was selling color-coding bands, but they didn't specify what the colors were or if they meant anything specific.

There is some sort of hazardous labeling system that I've seen, but I don't know any details.

 

[doctorwayne]

There is some sort of hazardous labeling system that I've seen, but I don't know any details.

Yeah, the publication that I mentioned referred to that, too. It's used in conjunction with the MSDS sheets that are mandatory, at least in most North American jurisdictions, I think.
I believe that some refineries may have their own colour coding system for petroleum products, but there aren't enough colours to cover all of the other types of commodities that use these drums. We always referred to these drums as 40 gallon drums, although their capacity is actually 44 Imperial gallons. In Canada, we now have a "metric system" in place which is based on the U.S. gallon.

Wayne

 

[MCL_RDG]

I knew a fellow...

...(model railroader too) who took an acetylene torch to a black 55 gallon drum to cut it in half and make a BBQ/smoker. Well, after the fiery explosion and smoke cleared, the black drum was no mo' and his face was red, for weeks (as the new skin grew back). A model railroader with no eyebrows or hair, or face is not a pleasant thing.

We have many different colored drums around our plant. I worked for Estee Lauder- perfumes while in Art School- had hundreds and hundreds of black drums. The sweetest I've ever smelled. Then there were the red drums with white ends- held vegetable oil used for hydraulic applications. This was for elevators- people, freight & service. (Is there an animated vomit icon?) Man, this stuff was the worst. You ever smell rancid vegetable oil? Maggots wear clothes pins when near the stuff.

Too much info? Eh, me too!

Mark

 

[TrainNut]

Btw, I got this by Googling "55 gallon drum colour coding".
Wayne

I tried searching first for 55 gallon drum color classification with no luck and then several other variations of that also with no luck. It seems that you can get these things in pretty much any color you want but there does not seem to be any standard color coding system that I found.

 

[lester perry]

For what it is worth where I work (At Chryslers Newark De plant) They have tanks for Diesel fuel that are yellow and Kerosene is blue. But everything else is what ever color they happen to be usually Black metal or Blue plastic.
Les