Page 49 - OHS, June 2024

the hazards of the chemicals they work with and how to safely use them, they can greatly decrease any risk that might be present. OSHA’s HazCom Standard at 29 CFR 1910.1200 requires you to communicate this information.
All employees exposed to hazardous chemicals in the workplace must be provided with information and training on the hazardous chemicals in their work area. “Exposure or exposed” is defined in the standard to mean “that an employee is subjected in the course of employment to a chemical that is a physical or health hazard, and includes potential (e.g., accidental or possible) exposure. “Sub- jected” in terms of health hazards includes any route of entry (e.g., inhalation, ingestion, skin contact or absorption).”
How Does OSHA Define Hazardous Chemical?
Under HazCom, a hazardous chemical is defined as “any chemical which is classified as a physical hazard or a health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, pyrophoric gas, or hazard not other- wise classified (HNOC).” A physical hazard or health hazard may pose any of the hazardous effects listed in the table on page 46.
Section 2 of a safety data sheet (SDS) tells you whether a chemi- cal is considered hazardous. It identifies the hazards of the chemi- cal and the appropriate warning information associated with those hazards. The required information includes:
■ The chemical’s hazard classification (e.g., flammable liquid, category);
■ Signal word;
■ Hazard statement(s);
■ Pictograms;
■ Precautionary statement(s);
■ Description of any HNOC; and
■ For a mixture that contains an ingredient(s) with unknown
toxicity, a statement describing how much (percentage) of the mixture consists of ingredient(s) with unknown toxicity. This is a total percentage of the mixture and not tied to the individual ingredient(s).
Getting Started With Training
Your written HazCom program can serve as a training blueprint, as it reflects what your company is doing to comply with the pro- visions of the standard and to protect employees from chemical hazards. It should include a list of all hazardous chemicals in the workplace and address:
■ Training on chemicals in the work area;
■ Labels on shipped and in-house containers;
■ SDSs;
■ The methods used to inform employees of the hazards of
non-routine tasks and the hazards of unlabeled pipes in their work area; and
■ Multi-employer workplaces.
What Must Be Covered in Training?
Employees must be trained at the time they’re assigned to work with a hazardous chemical and whenever a new chemical hazard is intro- duced. Annual training is a best practice and refresher training may
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JUNE 2024 | Occupational Health & Safety 47