NFPA 490 was developed by the Technical Committee on Storage, Handling, and Transportation of Hazardous Chemicals and was tentatively adopted by the Association in 1963. It was further amended and again tentatively adopted in 1964. After further revision, it was officially adopted in 1965. Amendments to NFPA 490 were adopted in 1967, 1969, and 1970. A complete revision was adopted in 1975, and several minor amendments were adopted in 1980 and 1985.
The 1993 edition of NFPA 490 incorporated amendments to the document. These changes enhanced its enforceability through revision of nonmandatory language provisions and conformance with the NFPA Manual of Style.