Explosiveness
Explosiveness is the ability of a substance, either pure or mixed with other substances, to react rapidly and to produce local high temperatures and to generate large volumes of gases.
Four categories of explosions can be considered
- Thermo explosions
- Explosive combustions
- Detonations
- BLEVE”s
An explosion may damage the property because of the immense forces generated. In many cases an explosion can also cause a fire. Human beings are also in great danger near an explosion because of the resulting shock wave and possible fire.
The flash point of a liquid is a good measure for explosiveness; a liquid with a low flash point will form a flammable vapour at a low temperature. Explosive liquids are classified as IMDG class 3.
A special group consists of explosives in packaged form. This group is unique because the package has an important effect on the damage. These substances are classified with IMDG class 1.
