Revised Hazard Communication Standard

Flammables Pyrophoric substances Self-heating Emits flammable gas Self-reactive substances Organic peroxides 

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I ve encountered actual REACH information here in the U.S. already. How long before it s your turn Soon after OSHA issues its final revised hazard communication standard, the floodgate will open for new... 

Label Changes in the Revised Hazard Communication Standard... 

The current standard provides employers with flexibility regarding the type of system to be used in their workplaces and OSHA has retained that flexibility in the revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). Employers may choose to label workplace containers either with the same label that would be on shipped containers for the chemical under the revised rule, or with label alternatives that meet the requirements for the standard. Alternative labehng systems such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 704 Hazard Rating and the Hazardous Material Information System (HMIS) are permitted for workplace containers. However, the information supplied on these labels must be consistent with the revised HCS, e.g., no conflicting hazard warnings or pictograms. 

The first compliance date of the revised Hazard Communication standard was December 1, 2013. By that time employers must have trained their workers on the new label elements and the SDS format. This training is needed early in the transition process since workers are already beginning to see the new labels and SDSs on the chemicals in their workplace. Tb ensure employees have the information they need to better protect themselves from chemical hazards in the workplace during the transition period, it is critical that employees understand the new label and SDS formats. The list below contains the minimum required topics for the training that was to have been completed by December 1, 2013, or for new employees coming in after the deadline. 

OSHA regulates semustine under the Hazard Communication Standard and as a chemical hazard in laboratories. OSHA publication Work practice guidelines for personnel dealing with cytotoxic (anti-neoplastic) drugs and its revisions are among regulations in connection with occupational exposure to semustine in health care settings. 

In 2012 OSHA revised its Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom) to align it with the GHS. This hazard rating system uses systematic definitions for all chemical hazards that might be encountered. It identifies hazard classes (physical hazards, health hazards, environmental hazards) and within each hazard... 

FIGURE 3.1.2.2 Hazard Communication Standard Pictograms and associated Hazard Classes. These pictograms are commonplace in labels and SDSs as a result of the implementation of GHS in the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard Revision of 2012. ... 

Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, Revision 3, issued in the Federal Register, March 26,2012. 

Under the current Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), the label preparer must provide the identity of the chemical, and the appropriate hazard warnings. This may be done in a variety of ways, and the method to convey the information is left to the preparer. Under the revised HCS, once the hazard classification is completed, the standard specifies what information is to be provided for each hazard class and category. Labels will require the following elements ... 

Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers who become newly aware of any significant information regarding the hazards of a chemical must revise the labels for the chemical within six months of becoming aware of the new information and must ensure that labels on containers of hazardous chemicals shipped after that time contain the new information. OSHA says that chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers must be in compliance with all modified provisions of the Hazard Communication Standard no later than June 1, 2015, except Distributors have until December 1, 2015, to ensure that containers labeled by the chemical manufacturer or importer are not shipped unless the label has been modified to comply with GHS format for container labels. All employers have until June 1,2016, to update any alternative in-house labeling such as signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or other written materials used to convey hazard information ... 

While the emphasis in the 1980 revision of this Standard in defining health hazard is principally upon acute effects, the fire-fighting community is seriously concerned with chronic health effects. Epidemiologic studies demonstrate that firemen pay a significant health toll in protecting society from the devastation of uncontrolled fire. Thus the residual injury that may result from exposure to toxic chemicals or their decomposition and/or combustion products should be a consideration when evaluating health hazard. 

Manufacturers who sell equipment that is to go into a workplace in the European Community are to apply a CE mark, a label indicating that the requirements of applicable laws and regulations are met. Many companies now have designated personnel on their staffs to see that the hazard analysis and risk assessment requirements of the European standards are followed. Several American National Standards were drafted or revised so that they are in consort with European standards. 

As regards the diagnosing of safety standards, a suitable instrument called the "Safety Diagnosing Questionnaire" draws from systematically collected empirical findings of safe and unsafe behavior (Bernhardt et al. 1984). About 200 questions derived from empirical studies deal with hazards at the work place, with perceptual and jugmental processes, with communication as well as with decision making about safety critical conditions. This questionnaire was recently revised and is now ready for application and further evaluation (see Chapter 7). 

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has found that current MSDSs do not always effectively communicate to employers and workers necessary information about combustible dust hazards or ways to prevent them. A CSB survey found that nearly half of MSDSs for known combustible particulate materials contained no dust explosion warnings, only seven referenced NFPA standards, and few contained practical information. Since the CSB study, OSHA has revised the HazCom requirements. Under the revisions, combustible dust hazards must be addressed on labels and SDSs. Label elements are provided for combustible dust in the final HCS and include the signal word Svarning and the hazard statement May form combustible dust concentrations in the air. For chemicals in a solid form that do not present a combustible dust hazard, but may form combustible dusts while being processed in normal downstream uses, OSHA allows the chemical manufacturer some fiexibility in labeling requirements. The manufacturer or importer to may transmit the label to the customer at the time of the initial shipment, but the label does not need to be included with subsequent shipments unless it changes. This provides the needed information to the downstream users on the potential hazards in the workplace, while acknowledging that the solid metal or other materials do not present the same hazards that are produced when these materials are processed under normal conditions of use. 

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