Hazard Communication

Hazard Communication

Chemicals in the Workplace

About 32 million workers are potentially exposed to one or more chemical hazards.  There are an estimated 575,000 existing chemical products, and hundreds of new ones being introduced annually.  This poses a serious problem for exposed workers and their employers.

Chemical exposure may cause or contribute to many serious health effects such as heart ailments, kidney and lung damage, sterility, cancer, burns, and rashes.  Some chemicals may also be safety hazards and have the potential to cause fires and explosions and other serious accidents.

Because of the seriousness of these safety and health problems, and because many employers and employees know little or nothing about them, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a rule called "Hazard Communication."  The basic goal of the standard is to be sure employers and employees know about work hazards and how to protect themselves; this should help to reduce the incidence of chemical source illness and injuries.

The Hazard Communication Standard establishes uniform requirements to make sure that the hazards of all chemicals imported into, produced, or used in U.S. workplaces are evaluated, and that this hazard information is transmitted to affected employers and exposed employees.

Hazard Evaluation

The quality of the hazard communication program depends on the adequacy and accuracy of the hazard assessment.  Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to review available scientific evidence concerning the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and to report the information they find to their employees and to employers who distribute or use their products.  Downstream employers can rely on the evaluations performed by the chemical manufactures or importers to establish the hazards of the chemicals they use.

The chemical manufacturers, importers, and any employers who choose to evaluate hazards are responsible for the quality of the hazard determinations they perform.  Each chemical must be evaluated for its potential to cause adverse health effects and its potential to pose physical hazards such as flammability.  (Definitions of hazards covered are included in the standard.)  Chemicals that are listed in one of the following sources are to be considered hazardous in all cases:

      -    29 CFR 1910, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA) and

      -    Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents in the Work Environment, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

In addition, chemicals that have been evaluated and found to be a suspect or confirmed carcinogen in the following sources must be reported as such:

       -    National Toxicology Program (NTP), Annual Report on Carcinogens,

       -    International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Monographs, and

       -    Regulated by OSHA as a carcinogen.

Written Hazard Communication Program

Employers must develop, implement, and maintain at the workplace a written, comprehensive hazard communication program that includes provisions for container labeling, collection and availability of material safety data sheets, and an employee training program.  It also must contain a list of the hazardous chemicals in each work area, the means the employer will use to inform employees of the hazards of non-routine tasks (for example, the cleaning of reactor vessels), and the hazards associated with chemicals in unlabeled pipes.  If the workplace has multiple employers on-site (for example, a construction site), the rule requires these employers to ensure that information regarding hazards and protective measures be made available to the other employers on-site, where appropriate.

The written program does not have to be lengthy or complicated, and some employers may be able to rely on existing hazard communication programs to comply with the above requirements.  The written program must be available to employees, their designated representatives, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Labels and Others Forms of Warning

Chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors must be sure that containers of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace are labeled, tagged or marked with the identity of the chemicals, appropriate hazard warnings, and the name and address of the manufacturer or other responsible party.

In the workplace, each container must be labeled, tagged or marked with the identity of hazardous chemicals contained therein, and must show hazard warnings appropriate for employee protection.  The hazard warning can be any type of message, words, pictures, or symbols that convey the hazards of the chemical(s) in the container.  Labels must be legible, in English (plus other languages, if desired), and prominently displayed.

Exemptions to the requirement for in-plant individual container labels are as follows:

      -     Employers can post signs or placards that convey the hazard information if there are a number of stationary containers within a work area that have similar contents and hazards.

      -    Employers can substitute various types of standard operating procedures, process sheets, batch tickets, blend tickets, and similar written materials for container labels on stationary process equipment if they contain the same information and are readily available to employees in the work area.

      -    Employers are not required to label portable containers into which hazardous chemicals are transferred from labeled containers and that are intended only for the immediate use of the employee who makes the transfer.

      -    Employers are not required to label pipes or piping systems.

 Material Safety Data Sheets

Chemical manufacturers and importers must develop an MSDS for each hazardous chemical they produce or import, and must provide the MSDS automatically at the time of the initial shipment of a hazardous chemical to a downstream distributor or user.  Distributors must also ensure that downstream employers are similarly provided an MSDS. 

Each MSDS must be in English and include information regarding the specific chemical identity of the hazardous chemical(s) involved and the common names.  In addition, information must be provided on the physical and chemical characteristics of the hazardous chemical; known acute and chronic health effects and related health information; exposure limits; whether the chemical is considered to be a carcinogen by NTP, IARC, or OSHA; precautionary measures; emergency and first-aid procedures; and the identification of the organization responsible for preparing the sheet.

Copies of the MSDS for hazardous chemicals in a given work site are to be readily accessible to employees in that area.  As a source of detailed information on hazards, they must be located close to workers, and readily available to them during each workshift.

A copy of the non-mandatory MSDS form (OSHA 174) can be obtained from OSHA field offices.

List of Hazardous Chemicals

Employers must prepare a list of all hazardous chemicals in the workplace.  When the list is complete, it should be checked against the collected MSDS's that the employer has been sent.  If there are hazardous chemicals used for which no MSDS has been received, the employer must write to the supplier, manufacturer, or importer to obtain the missing MSDS.  If employers do not receive the MSDS within a reasonable period of time, they should contact the nearest OSHA office.

Employee Information and Training

Employers must establish a training and information program for employees exposed to hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of initial assignment and whenever a new hazard is introduced into their work area.

 Information

At a minimum, the discussion topics must include the following:

       -    The existence of the hazard communication standard and the requirements of the standard.

       -    The components of the hazard communication program in the  employees' workplaces.

       -     Operations in work areas where hazardous chemicals are present.

       -     Where the employer will keep the written hazard evaluation procedures, communications program, lists of hazardous chemicals, and the required MSDS forms.

 Training

The employee training plan must consist of the following elements:

       -      How the hazard communication program is implemented in that workplace, how to read and interpret information on labels and the MSDS, and how employees can obtain and use the available hazard information.

       -     The hazards of the chemicals in the work area. (The hazards may be discussed by individual chemical or by hazard categories such as flammability.)

       -     Measures employees can take to protect themselves from the hazards.

       -     Specific procedures put into effect by the employer to provide protection such as engineering controls, work practices, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

       -    Methods and observations--such as visual appearance or smell--workers can use to detect the presence of a hazardous chemical to which they may be exposed.

Trade Secrets

A "trade secret" is something that gives an employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know about the trade secret or who do not use it.  For example, a trade secret may be a confidential device, pattern, information, or chemical make-up.  Chemical industry trade secrets are generally formulas, process data, or a "specific chemical identity."  The latter is the type of trade secret information referred to in the hazard communication standard.  The term includes the chemical name, the Chemical Abstracts Services (CAS) Registry Number, or any other specific information that reveals the precise designation.  It does not include common names.

The standard strikes a balance between the need to protect exposed employees and the employer's need to maintain the confidentiality of a bona fide trade secret.  This is achieved by providing for limited disclosure to health professionals who are furnishing medical or other occupational health services to exposed employees, employees and their designated representatives, under specified conditions of need and confidentiality.

Medical Emergency

The chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer must immediately disclose the specific chemical identity of a hazardous chemical to a treating physician or nurse when the information is needed for proper emergency or first-aid treatment.  As soon as circumstances permit, the chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer may obtain a written statement of need and a confidentiality agreement.

Under the contingency described here, the treating physician or nurse has the ultimate responsibility for determining that a medical emergency exists.  At the time of the emergency, the professional judgement of the physician or nurse regarding the situation must form the basis for triggering the immediate disclosure requirement.  Because the chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer can demand a written statement of need and a confidentiality agreement to be completed after the emergency is abated, further disclosure of the trade secret can be effectively controlled.

Non-Emergency Situation

In non-emergency situations, chemical manufacturers, importers, or employers must disclose the withheld specific chemical identity to health professionals providing medical or other occupational health services to exposed employees, and to employees and their designated representatives, if certain conditions are met.  In this context, "health professionals" include physicians, occupational health nurses, industrial hygienists, toxicologists, or epidemiologists.

The request for information must be in writing and must describe with reasonable detail the medical or occupational health need for the information.  The request will be considered if the information will be used for one or more of the following activities:

      -     To assess the hazards of the chemicals to which employees will be exposed.

      -     To conduct or assess sampling of the workplace atmosphere to determine employee exposure levels.

      -     To conduct pre-assignment or periodic medical surveillance of exposed employees.

      -     To provide medical treatment to exposed employees.

      -     To select or assess appropriate personal protective equipment for exposed employees.

      -     To design or assess engineering controls or other protective       measures for exposed employees.

      -    To conduct studies to determine the health effects of exposure.

The health professional, employee, or designated representative must also specify why alternative information is insufficient.  The request for information must explain in detail why disclosure of the specific chemical identity is essential, and include the procedures to be used to protect the confidentiality of the information.  It must include an agreement not to use the information for any purpose other than the health need stated or to release it under any circumstances, except to OSHA.

The standard further describes in detail the steps that will be followed in the event that an employer decides not to disclose the specific chemical identity requested by the health professional, employee, or designated representative.