Dangerous When Wet: Exploring Important Differences in Common Water Reactivity Testing Methodologies

It is important to accurately characterize a substance or mixture for water reactivity during processing, storage and transportation. There are several methods available to evaluate this behavior. This paper will provide an overview of the various methods including the United Nations (UN) Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, Rev. 21 (2019), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Code of Federal Regulations: 49 CFR 173.124, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and International Fire/Building Code (IFC/IBC). Each method has an application associated with the test design and measured parameters. The test methods will be compared and contrasted to identify their applicability and limitations. Examples of test results from specific methods will be reviewed to identify key learnings that could lead to incomplete or incorrect classification of substances. The objective is to understand the limitations of the test methods and explore additional characterization to understand the behavior of the material as it relates to the usage need of process, storage or transportation.

The following learning objectives will be achieved:

1. Introduce test methods to characterize water reactivity
2. Understand applicability and limitations of specific test methods.
3. Identify additional test methods to characterize water reactivity for safe processing, storage and transportation of materials.