What does a specific gravity of less than 1 indicate about a substance?

• A. The substance will sink in water
• B. The substance will float on water
• C. The substance is denser than air
• D. The substance has high toxicity

Answer: (B)

A specific gravity of less than 1 indicates that the substance is less dense than water. Since water has a specific gravity of 1, any substance with a specific gravity lower than this will not sink. Instead, it will float on the surface of the water. This property is particularly important in hazardous materials situations, as it helps responders understand how a substance might behave in the environment and assists in determining containment and cleanup measures for spills or leaks.

Understanding this property of specific gravity is crucial for effective management of hazardous materials, particularly when determining the potential for contamination of water sources. The characteristic of floating or sinking can drastically influence the response strategy during an incident involving spills of hazardous substances.