Tag Archive for: chemical hazards

Deadline to Obtain Reformatted Safety Data Sheets

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The Hazard Communication Standard Revision of 2012 required manufacturers of hazardous chemicals to reformat all safety data sheets to a standardized 16-section format.  This process was to have been completed by June 1, 2015.

The compliance date for employers to obtain the newly formatted safety data sheets was June 1, 2016.  If your practice has not already collected the new safety data sheets, you should begin requesting/searching for them now. We recommend searching for safety data sheets online, as many manufacturers will post them on their website.  If safety data sheets cannot be found online, you may request a copy from the manufacturer by letter.  Retain a copy of the letter to demonstrate your effort to comply with the requirement.

When revised safety data sheets are obtained, you may discard the original material safety data sheets, as long as the hazardous ingredients have not changed.

Hazard Communication Workplace Labeling

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When the Hazard Communication Standard was updated in 2012, the burden of providing chemical hazard labeling was shifted from employers to the manufacturers and distributors of hazardous chemical products. Previously, employers had to supplement manufacturer labels to indicate hazard warnings for health, fire, reactivity and special hazards, along with a notation of the name of the product and an indication of the target organs. After December 1, 2015, manufacturers will have to ship products with a compliant label that includes pictograms, hazard statements, etc.

For the rare circumstances in which the manufacturer label is not on a container, the employer will have to provide workplace labeling. A common example of this situation is when an employer orders a large bottle of a product (such as isopropyl alcohol), and then pours it into smaller containers/pumps/dispensers for use throughout the workplace.

The standard defines workplace labeling as:

Product identifier and words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical.

For more information on how to accomplish workplace labeling when it is required, refer to the article in the December 2015 issue of the American Practice Advisor.