TROY — Unbeknown to operators of trains, tractor-trailers and tanker trucks, teams of volunteers spent two months this spring recording information from hazardous material placards as their ...

Today, vehicles carrying hazardous materials are required by federal law to have placards — color-coded, diamond-shaped signs with numbers and symbols. In the event of an emergency, such as a fire, ...

Many fire chiefs in the United States consider hazardous materials placards to be critical to their emergency response, according to a survey conducted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.