Underground warning tapes have several key uses in multiple industries:
- Identifying electrical cables.
- Spotting potentially dangerous underground cables such as fire mains and gas pipelines.
- Establishing and highlighting fibre-optic cables and internet lines.
- Organising telephone wires and communication lines.
- Protecting cables during excavation.
To keep their use standardised and recognisable across disciplines, a colour code must be followed. Below, we discuss what the underground warning tape colour code is and why it’s important.
The Underground Warning Tape Colour Code
In total, there are 8 colours in the underground warning tape specification:
- Red – electric power lines, conduits and cables.
- Green – sewage and drain lines.
- Purple – survey markings.
- Orange – telecommunications.
- Blue – drinking water.
- White – excavation limits.
- Yellow – gas, oil, steam and other flammables.
- Purple – reclaimed water and irrigation.
Why Do We Need An Underground Warning Tape Specification?
Simply put, a colour-coded system helps prevent accidents. Let’s say someone needed to perform maintenance on a drinking water line (blue). They would need to know if it was near any drainage systems (green), flammables (yellow) or reclaimed water (purple) before beginning maintenance.
To maintain safety further, pipes typically have different materials based on what they carry. For example, water pipes, telecommunications and electric cables are usually covered in black plastic, while gas pipes are usually in iron or steel pipes.
However, the colour-coding system isn’t infallible. Some of the work maintenance services undertake is on older infrastructure. As such, the HSE advises caution even in the presence of tapes, as:
- Older pipes may not conform to the current colour-coded system.
- Colours may have faded, or appear different under certain lighting.
- Pipes could be used by different services, so material may not be 100% accurate.
Underground warning tapes are there to complement the expertise of maintenance services. While they aren’t an infallible safety net, they do provide an extra layer of protection.
Get High-Quality Underground Warning Tapes
At Label Source, we stock a range of high-quality underground warning tape for a variety of industries. If you require assistance in maintaining underground cables, then our stock is here to help.
