Articles Tagged with ''Hazard Communication standard''

The Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals promises a standardized method for identifying and communicating chemical hazards throughout the world. More than 60 countries have adopted GHS, which was created and published by the United Nations.

With the deadlines for “Globally Harmonized System” (GHS) label compliance now past for chemical manufacturers, distributors, and end users, OSHA has some stiff fines planned for those not yet with the program.

OSAH and Health Canada -- the Canadian government department responsible for the country’s national public health -- have jointly developed a 2016-2017 Workplace Chemicals Work Plan.

A Passaic, New Jersey warehouse operator was cited earlier this month for two dozen safety violations, including failure to have a written hazard assessment and a hazard communication program (including material safety data sheets), a lack of training for employees required to handle hazardous chemicals, fall hazards, inadequate exit signage, lack of machine guarding, electrical hazards, and a failure to provide eyewash facilities.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of precautionary statements that appear on the label? A: No. OSHA requires all of the appropriate precautionary statements to appear on the label to warn users of the hazards of the chemical in question.

Industrial end users – from plant, operations, and maintenance managers to janitorial and sanitation supervisors to environmental health and safety (EHS) compliance officers – must now ask if their chemical labels are GHS compliant.

Among the industries affected by the revisions in OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is the restaurant industry, where workers may be exposed to an array of potentially hazardous chemicals such as oven cleaners, floor cleaners, pesticides, disinfectants, drain cleaners, soaps, detergents, and latex. These materials can cause everything from infections to severe burns.

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.

Dear Mr. Jones: This letter is to follow up on the interim letter sent to you dated June 24, 2014, by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In your original April 1, 2014, letter you requested clarification on whether railroad train crews performing work as hazmat employees are subject to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200.