There is no specific law that states that pipes must be labeled, let alone labeled with Right-to-Know information. But, an increasing number of plants understand the importance of Right-to-Know information and use their pipe markers to reinforce the message. The additional cost is slight, especially when compared to the installation cost and the potential benefit of having this information when and where you need it. Many users even feel that regulations will eventually tighten, so that if you are going to the expense of marking your valves or pipes. You should make the markers as effective as possible. After all, the cost of the marker is really only a fraction of the cost to install a marker.

For example, the OSHA section, 1910.1200 on Hazardous Communication, is the standard most commonly cited by OSHA, with 17,072 violations and over $8.6 million of initial penalties in 1994 alone.

As a result, plants add the NFPA diamond,  color bars, or the SmartRTK bar chart to their pipe markers.