The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) was originally adopted by OSHA in 1994. Since its recent update, it is now aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) used throughout the world.
The June 1, 2016 deadline past; employers must be in compliance with OSHA’s GHS standard through the updating of alternative workplace labeling and hazard communication program (as necessary), and by providing additional employee training for newly identified physical or health hazards.
Oil and gas companies in New Mexico were responsible for 1,477 reported oil, gas, and other chemical spills in 2015, according to the New Mexico Toxic Release Tracker released by the Center for Western Priorities.
An OSHA compliance officer investigating a complaint at a New Jersey hospital reviewed the hospital’s OSHA 300 logs and found something that lead to an additional inspection – and multiple citations.
OSHA standard 1910.1200, covering toxic and hazardous substances, was updated to align with the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, or importers to provide Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) (formerly known as Material Safety Data Sheets or MSDSs) to communicate the hazards of hazardous chemical products.
OSHA calls it “The standard that gave workers the right to know, now gives them the right to understand” and its next big deadline is coming up on June 1, 2016.
The Proposition 65 warning requirement for exposures to BPA, listed as a reproductive toxicant, is effective on May 11, 2016. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued two proposed regulations -- an emergency regulation for exposure to BPA through ingestion, which permits temporary point of sale warning signage for canned and bottled food and beverages, and a proposed regulation which sets a safe harbor level of 3 mcg/day for dermal absorption of BPA from solid materials.
As part of OSHA's efforts to protect workers from the hazards of chemicals, the agency plans to issue new guidance on how to apply the Weight of Evidence approach when dealing with complex scientific studies.
Approximately thirty leading European researchers, trade unionists and representatives of associations gathered this week for a seminar organised jointly by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), the Belgian association Santé & Solidarité, and the Free University of Brussels (ULB).
