ABSTRACT
Corrosives Corrosives are the largest class of chemicals used by industry, so it stands to reason that they would frequently be encountered in transportation and at fixed facilities (Photo 10.1). DOT Class 8 materials are corrosive liquids and solids. There are no DOT subclasses of corrosives. There are, however, two types of corrosive materials found in Class 8: acids and bases. Acids and bases are actually two different types of chemicals that are sometimes used to neutralize each other in a small spill. Corrosives are grouped together in Class 8 because the corrosive effects from both acids and bases are much the same on tissue and metals, if contacted. It should be noted, however, that the correct terminology for an acid is corrosive and for a base is caustic. DOT, however, does not differentiate between the two when placarding and labeling. DOT defines a corrosive material as “a liquid or solid that causes visible destruction or irreversible alterations in human skin tissue at the site of contact, or a liquid that has a severe corrosion rate on steel or aluminum. This corrosive rate on steel and aluminum is 0.246 inches per year at a test temperature of 131°F (55°C).”
