Though OSHA is proposing to modify its current Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the provisions of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), it will not change the framework and scope of the current HCS. But there will be changes, including for material safety data sheets.

The major proposed changes to the HCS include the following:

Hazard classification: Provides specific criteria for classification of health and physical hazards, as well as classification of mixtures.

Labels: Chemical manufacturers and importers will be required to provide a label that includes a harmonized signal word, pictogram, and hazard statement for each hazard class and category. Precautionary statements must also be provided.

Safety Data Sheets: Will now have a specified 16-section format. Information and training: The proposed HCS will require that workers are trained within two years of the publication of the final rule to facilitate recognition and understanding of the new labels and safety data sheets.

The HCS is based on a simple concept — that employees have both a need and a right to know the hazards and identities of the chemicals they are exposed to when working. They also need to know what protective measures are available to prevent adverse effects from occurring.

Hazards from chemicals should be identified, analyzed, and categorized prior to work being performed. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) contains important sections about labels and MSDSs, and 29 CFR 1910.1450, Laboratory Standard, also contains a relevant section.

The HCS defines a hazardous chemical as any chemical that poses a physical or health hazard. The EPA defines hazardous wastes in 40 CFR 240-299 [(implementing regulations for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)].

Recommended MSDS Format

OSHA’s HCS specifies certain information that must be included on MSDSs. In order to promote consistent presentation of information, OSHA recommends that MSDSs follow the 16-section format established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for preparation of MSDSs (Z400.1) and which will be part of the alignment with the GHS.

By following this recommended format, the information of greatest concern to workers is featured at the beginning of the data sheet, including information on chemical composition and first aid measures. More technical information that addresses topics such as the physical and chemical properties of the material and toxicological data appears later in the document.

While some of this information (such as ecological information) is not required by the HCS, the 16-section MSDS is becoming the international norm. The 16 sections are:
• Identification;
• Hazard(s) identification;
• Composition/information on ingredients;
• First-aid measures;
• Fire-fighting measures;
• Accidental release measures;
• Handling and storage;
• Exposure controls/personal protection;
• Physical and chemical properties;
• Stability and reactivity;
• Toxicological information;
• Ecological information;
• Disposal considerations;
• Transport information;
• Regulatory information; and
• Other information.

Employers shall maintain copies of any material safety data sheets received with incoming shipments of the sealed containers of hazardous chemicals; if a shipment comes without one, the employer must obtain one if an employee requests it. Employers must also ensure that the material safety data sheets are readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s).

Employers shall ensure that employees are provided with information and training to the extent necessary to protect them in the event of a spill or leak of a hazardous chemical from a sealed container.

The standard’s design is simple. Chemical manufacturers and importers must evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import. Using that information, they must then prepare labels for containers and more detailed technical bulletins called material safety data sheets (MSDSs).

Chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors of hazardous chemicals are all required to provide the appropriate labels and material safety data sheets to the employers to whom they ship the chemicals. The information must be provided automatically. Every container of hazardous chemicals you receive must be labeled, tagged, or marked with the required information.

OSHA says you can rely on the information received from your suppliers. You have no independent duty to analyze the chemical or evaluate the hazards of it.

Employers that “use” hazardous chemicals must have a program to ensure the information is provided to exposed employees. “Use” means to package, handle, react, or transfer. This is an intentionally broad scope, and includes any situation where a chemical is present in such a way that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use or in a foreseeable emergency.

 Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace

The standard requires a list of hazardous chemicals in the workplace as part of the written hazard communication program. The list will eventually serve as an inventory of everything for which you must maintain an MSDS.

The best way to prepare a comprehensive list is to survey the workplace. Purchasing records also may help, and certainly employers should establish procedures to ensure that in the future purchasing procedures result in MSDSs being received before using a material in the workplace.

The broadest possible perspective should be taken when doing the survey. Sometimes people think of “chemicals” as being only liquids in containers. The HCS covers chemicals in all physical forms — liquids, solids, gases, vapors, fumes, and mists — whether they are “contained” or not. The hazardous nature of the chemical and the potential for exposure are the factors that determine whether a chemical is covered. If it’s not hazardous, it’s not covered. If there is no potential for exposure, (e.g., the chemical is inextricably bound and cannot be released), the rule does not cover the chemical.

Once you have compiled as complete a list as possible of the potentially hazardous chemicals in the workplace, the next step is to determine if you have received material safety data sheets for all of them. Check your files against the inventory you have just compiled. If any are missing, contact your supplier and request one. It is a good idea to document these requests, either by copy of a letter or a note regarding telephone conversations.

You should not allow employees to use any chemicals for which you have not received an MSDS. The MSDS provides information you need to ensure you have implemented proper protective measures for exposure.

Material Safety Data Sheets

Under the rule, the role of MSDSs is to provide detailed information on each hazardous chemical, including its potential hazardous effects, its physical and chemical characteristics, and recommendations for appropriate protective measures. This information should be useful to you as the employer responsible for designing protective programs, as well as to the workers.

If you are not familiar with material safety data sheets and with chemical terminology, you may need to learn to use them yourself. A glossary of MSDS terms may be helpful in this regard. Generally speaking, most employers using hazardous chemicals will primarily be concerned with MSDS information regarding hazardous effects and recommended protective measures. Focus on the sections of the MSDS that are applicable to your situation.

MSDSs must be readily accessible to employees when they are in their work areas during their work shifts. This may be accomplished in many different ways. You must decide what is appropriate for your particular workplace.

Some employers keep the MSDSs in a binder in a central location (e.g., in the pickup truck on a construction site.) Others, particularly in workplaces with large numbers of chemicals, computerize the information and provide access through terminals. As long as employees can get the information when they need it, any approach may be used.

The employees must have access to the MSDSs themselves — simply having a system where the information can be read to them over the phone is permitted only under the mobile worksite provision, paragraph (g)(9), when employees must travel between workplaces during the shift. In this situation, they have access to the MSDSs prior to leaving the primary worksite, and when they return, so the telephone system is simply an emergency arrangement.

In order to ensure that you have a current MSDS for each chemical in the plant as required, and that you provide employee access, the compliance officers will be looking for the following types of information in your written program:

• Designation of person(s) responsible for obtaining and maintaining the MSDSs;
• How such sheets are to be maintained in the workplace (e.g., in notebooks in the work area(s) or in a computer with terminal access), and how employees can obtain access to them when they are in their work area during the work shift;
• Procedures to follow when the MSDS is not received at the time of the first shipment;
• For producers, procedures to update the MSDS when new and significant health information is found;
• Description of alternatives to actual data sheets in the workplace, if used; and
• For employers using hazardous chemicals, the most important aspect of the written program in terms of MSDSs is to ensure that someone is responsible for obtaining and maintaining the MSDSs for every hazardous chemical in the workplace.

The list of hazardous chemicals required to be maintained as part of the written program will serve as an inventory. As new chemicals are purchased, the list should be updated. Many companies have found it convenient to include on their purchase order the name and address of the person designated in their company to receive MSDSs. FSM