{"data":{"id":"us/49-cfr-appendix-a-to-part-172","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"49 CFR Appendix A to Part 172","heading":"Appendix A to Part 172—Office of Hazardous Materials Transportation Color Tolerance Charts and Tables","body":"The following are Munsell notations and Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates which describe the Office of Hazardous Materials Transportation Label and Placard Color Tolerance Charts in tables 1 and 2, and the CIE coordinates for the color tolerances specified in table 3. Central colors and tolerances described in table 2 approximate those described in table 1 while allowing for differences in production methods and materials used to manufacture labels and placards surfaced with printing inks. Primarily, the color charts based on table 1 are for label or placard colors applied as opaque coatings such as paint, enamel or plastic, whereas color charts based on table 2 are intended for use with labels and placards surfaced only with inks.\nFor labels printed directly on packaging surfaces, table 3 may be used, although compliance with either table 1 or table 2 is sufficient. However, if visual reference indicates that the colors of labels printed directly on package surfaces are outside the table 1 or 2 tolerances, a spectrophotometer or other instrumentation may be required to insure compliance with table 3.\nTable 1—Specifications for Color Tolerance Charts for Use With Labels and Placards Surfaced With Paint, Lacquer, Enamel, Plastic, Other Opaque Coatings, or Ink 1\nColor Munsell notations CIE data for source C\nY x y\nRed:\nCentral color 7.5R 4.0/14 12.00 .5959 .3269\nOrange 8.5R 4.0/14 12.00 .6037 .3389\nPurple and vivid 6.5R 4.0/14 12.00 .5869 .3184\nGrayish 7.5R 4.0/12 12.00 .5603 .3321\nVivid 7.5R 4.0/16 12.00 .6260 .3192\nLight 7.5R 4.5/14 15.57 .5775 .3320\nDark 7. 5R 3.5/14 09.00 .6226 .3141\nOrange:\nCentral color 5.OYR 6.0/15 30.05 .5510 .4214\nYellow and Grayish 6.25YR 6.0/15 30.05 .5452 .4329\nRed and vivid 3.75YR 6.0/15 30.05 .5552 .4091\nGrayish 5.OYR 6.0/13 30.05 .5311 .4154\nVivid 5.OYR 6.0/16 30.05 .5597 .4239\nLight 5.OYR 6.5/15 36.20 .5427 .4206\nDark 5.OYR 5.5/15 24.58 .5606 .4218\nYellow:\nCentral color 5.OY 8.0/12 59.10 .4562 .4788\nGreen 6.5Y 8.0/12 59.10 .4498 .4865\nOrange and vivid 3.5Y 8.0/12 59.10 .4632 .4669\nGrayish 5.OY 8.0/10 59.10 .4376 .4601\nVivid 5.OY 8.0/14 59.10 .4699 .4920\nLight 5.OY 8.5/12 68.40 .4508 .4754\nDark 5.OY 7.5/12 50.68 .4620 .4823\nGreen:\nCentral color 7.5G 4.0/9 12.00 .2111 .4121\nBluish 0.5BG 4.0/9 12.00 .1974 .3809\nGreen-yellow 5.0G 4.0/9 12.00 .2237 .4399\nGrayish A 7.5G 4.0/7 12.00 .2350 .3922\nGrayish B 2 7.5G 4.0/6 12.00 .2467 .3822\nVivid 7.5G 4.0/11 12.00 .1848 .4319\nLight 7.5G 4.5/9 15.57 .2204 .4060\nDark 7.5G 3.5/9 09.00 .2027 .4163\nBlue:\nCentral color 2.5PB 3.5/10 09.00 .1691 .1744\nPurple 4.5PB 3.5/10 09.00 .1796 .1711\nGreen and vivid 10.0B 3.5/10 09.00 .1557 .1815\nGrayish 2.5PB 3.5/8 09.00 .1888 .1964\nVivid 2.5PB 3.5/12 09.00 .1516 .1547\nLight 2.5PB 4.0/10 12.00 .1805 .1888\nDark 2.5PB 3.0/10 06.55 .1576 .1600\nPurple:\nCentral color 10.0P 4.5/10 15.57 .3307 .2245\nReddish purple 2.5RP 4.5/10 15.57 .3584 .2377\nBlue purple 7.5P 4.5/10 15.57 .3068 .2145\nReddish gray 10.0P 4.5/8 15.57 .3280 .2391\nGray 2 10.0P 4.5/6.5 15.57 .3254 .2519\nVivid 10.0P 4.5/12 15.57 .3333 .2101\nLight 10.0P 5.0/10 19.77 .3308 .2328\nDark 10.0P 4.0/10 12.00 .3306 .2162\n1 Maximum chroma is not limited.\n2 For the colors green and purple, the minimum saturation (chroma) limits for porcelain enamel on metal are lower than for most other surface coatings. Therefore, the minimum chroma limits of these two colors as displayed on the Charts for comparison to porcelain enamel on metal is low, as shown for green (grayish B) and purple (gray).\nNote: CIE = Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage.\nTable 2—Specifications for Color Tolerance Charts for Use With Labels and Placards Surfaced With Ink\nColor/series Munsell notation CIE data for source C\nY x y\nRed:\nCentral series:\nCentral color 6.8R 4.47/12.8 15.34 .5510 .3286\nGrayish 7.2R 4.72/12.2 17.37 .5368 .3348\nPurple 6.4R 4.49/12.7 15.52 .5442 .3258\nPurple and vivid 6.1R 4.33/13.1 14.25 .5529 .3209\nVivid 6.7R 4.29/13.2 13.99 .5617 .3253\nOrange 7.3R 4.47/12.8 15.34 .5572 .3331\nOrange and grayish 7.65R 4.70/12.4 17.20 .5438 .3382\nLight series:\nLight 7.0R 4.72/13.2 17.32 .5511 .3322\nLight and orange 7.4R 4.96/12.6 19.38 .5365 .3382\nLight and purple 6.6R 4.79/12.9 17.94 .5397 .3289\nDark series:\nDark A 6.7R 4.19/12.5 13.30 .5566 .3265\nDark B 7.0R 4.25/12.35 13.72 .5522 .3294\nDark and purple 7.5R 4.23/12.4 13.58 .5577 .3329\nOrange:\nCentral series:\nCentral color 5.0YR 6.10/12.15 31.27 .5193 .4117\nYellow and grayish A 5.8YR 6.22/11.7 32.69 .5114 .4155\nYellow and grayish B 6.1YR 6.26/11.85 33.20 .5109 .4190\nVivid 5.1YR 6.07/12.3 30.86 .5226 .4134\nRed and vivid A 3.9YR 5.87/12.75 28.53 .5318 .4038\nRed and vivid B 3.6YR 5.91/12.6 29.05 .5291 .4021\nGrayish 4.9YR 6.10/11.9 31.22 .5170 .4089\nLight series:\nLight and vivid A 5.8YR 6.78/12.7 39.94 .5120 .4177\nLight and yellow 6.0YR 6.80/12.8 40.20 .5135 .4198\nLight and vivid B 4.9YR 6.60/12.9 37.47 .5216 .4126\nDark series:\nDark and yellow 5.8YR 5.98/11.0 29.87 .5052 .4132\nDark A 5.1YR 5.80/11.1 27.80 .5127 .4094\nDark B 5.0YR 5.80/11.0 27.67 .5109 .4068\nYellow:\nCentral series:\nCentral color 4.3Y 7.87/10.3 56.81 .4445 .4589\nVivid A 4.5Y 7.82/10.8 55.92 .4503 .4658\nVivid B 3.3Y 7.72/11.35 54.24 .4612 .4624\nVivid and orange 3.2Y 7.72/10.8 54.25 .4576 .4572\nGrayish A 4.1Y 7.95/9.7 58.18 .4380 .4516\nGrayish B 5.1Y 8.06/9.05 60.12 .4272 .4508\nGreen-yellow 5.2Y 7.97/9.9 58.53 .4356 .4605\nLight series:\nLight 5.4Y 8.59/10.5 70.19 .4351 .4628\nLight and green-yellow 5.4Y 8.56/11.2 69.59 .4414 .4692\nLight and vivid 4.4Y 8.45/11.4 67.42 .4490 .4662\nDark series:\nDark and green-yellow 4.4Y 7.57/9.7 51.82 .4423 .4562\nDark and orange A 3.4Y 7.39/10.4 48.86 .4584 .4590\nDark and orange B 3.5Y 7.41/10.0 49.20 .4517 .4544\nGreen:\nCentral series:\nCentral color 9.75G 4.26/7.75 13.80 .2214 .3791\nGrayish 10G 4.46/7.5 15.25 .2263 .3742\nBlue A 1.4BG 4.20/7.4 13.36 .2151 .3625\nBlue B 1.0BG 4.09/7.75 12.60 .2109 .3685\nVivid 8.4G 4.09/8.05 12.59 .2183 .3954\nVivid green-yellow 7.0G 4.23/8.0 13.54 .2292 .4045\nGreen-yellow 7.85G 4.46/7.7 15.23 .2313 .3914\nLight series:\nLight and vivid 9.5G 4.45/8.8 15.21 .2141 .3863\nLight and blue 0.2BG 4.31/8.8 14.12 .2069 .3814\nLight and green-yellow 8.3G 4.29/9.05 14.01 .2119 .4006\nDark series:\nDark and green-yellow 7.1G 4.08/7.1 12.55 .2354 .3972\nDark and grayish 9.5G 4.11/6.9 12.70 .2282 .3764\nDark 8.5G 3.97/7.2 11.78 .2269 .3874\nBlue:\nCentral series:\nCentral color 3.5PB 3.94/9.7 11.58 .1885 .1911\nGreen and grayish A 2.0PB 4.35/8.7 14.41 .1962 .2099\nGreen and grayish B 1.7PB 4.22/9.0 13.50 .1898 .2053\nVivid 2.9PB 3.81/9.7 10.78 .1814 .1852\nPurple and vivid A 4.7PB 3.53/10.0 9.15 .1817 .1727\nPurple and vivid B 5.0PB 3.71/9.9 10.20 .1888 .1788\nGrayish 3.75PB 4.03/9.1 12.17 .1943 .1961\nLight series:\nLight and green A 1.7PB 4.32/9.2 14.22 .1904 .2056\nLight and green B 1.5PB 4.11/9.6 12.72 .1815 .1971\nLight and vivid 3.2PB 3.95/10.05 11.70 .1831 .1868\nDark series:\nDark and grayish 3.9PB 4.01/8.7 12.04 .1982 .1992\nDark and purple A 4.8PB 3.67/9.3 9.95 .1918 .1831\nDark and purple B 5.2PB 3.80/9.05 10.76 .1985 .1885\nPurple:\nCentral series:\nCentral color 9.5P 4.71/11.3 17.25 .3274 .2165\nRed 1.0RP 5.31/10.8 22.70 .3404 .2354\nRed and vivid A 1.4RP 5.00/11.9 19.78 .3500 .2274\nRed and vivid B 0.2RP 4.39/12.5 14.70 .3365 .2059\nVivid 8.0P 4.04/12.0 12.23 .3098 .1916\nBlue 7.0P 4.39/10.8 14.71 .3007 .2037\nGrayish 8.8P 5.00/10.3 19.73 .3191 .2251\nLight series:\nLight and red A 0.85RP 5.56/11.1 25.18 .3387 .2356\nLight and red B 1.1RP 5.27/12.3 22.27 .3460 .2276\nLight and vivid 9.2P 4.94/11.95 19.24 .3247 .2163\nDark series:\nDark and grayish 9.6P 4.70/10.9 17.19 .3283 .2204\nDark and vivid 8.4P 4.05/11.6 12.35 .3144 .1970\nDark and blue 7.5P 4.32/10.5 14.19 .3059 .2078\nTable 3—Specification for Colors for Use With Labels Printed on Packagings Surfaces\nCIE data for source C Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple\nx .424 .460 .417 .228 .200 .377\ny .306 .370 .392 .354 .175 .205\nx .571 .543 .490 .310 .255 .377\ny .306 .400 .442 .354 .250 .284\nx .424 .445 .390 .228 .177 .342\ny .350 .395 .430 .403 .194 .205\nx .571 .504 .440 .310 .230 .342\ny .350 .430 .492 .403 .267 .284\nY (high) 23.0 41.6 72.6 20.6 15.9 21.2\nY (low) 7.7 19.5 29.1 7.4 6.5 8.2","path":["Title 49—Transportation","Subtitle B—Other Regulations Relating to Transportation","CHAPTER I—PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION","SUBCHAPTER C—HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS","PART 172—HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TABLE, SPECIAL PROVISIONS, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COMMUNICATIONS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION, TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, AND SECURITY PLANS"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-49.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:34Z","sha256":"6add7ebb1417bf2f87876d0650004390ab0afe1320e1f82a2d36fcdb86a9aaac","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/49-cfr-172.822","next":"us/49-cfr-appendix-b-to-part-172"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}