Hazard Communication: Chemical Safety 101

Wherever hazardous chemicals are used, workers run the risk of suffering serious health issues due to inadequate communication of (or lack of worker training to identify) the risks certain chemicals pose. After all, chemical injuries aren’t just acute, like battery acid contacting skin – they can also be chronic, like low levels of asbestos exposure causing cancer.

That’s why it’s so important for safety professionals to ensure workers understand how crucial hazard information is communicated through standardized data sheets and labels. In this article, we’ll explore how OSHA’s hazard communication standards and worker training materials can keep workplaces as safe and efficient as possible.

OSHA’s Globally Harmonized System (GHS)

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires that chemical manufacturers, distributors, and importers disclose the hazards their products pose through labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) and that employers who use hazardous chemicals in their workplace ensure their workers can locate, read, and understand those labels and SDSs.

Before the adoption of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), labels and SDSs weren’t standardized, so workers would have to read diverse and sometimes conflicting formats to understand hazard information. This led to a lot of confusion, limiting the ability of workers to quickly understand how certain chemicals had to be treated. In contrast, OSHA  says the adoption of the GHS provides “a standardized approach, including detailed criteria for determining what hazardous effects a chemical poses, as well as standardized label elements assigned by hazard class and category.”

In other words, the GHS makes it easier for employers, workers, and even health professionals to understand crucial information about chemicals – such as the type and severity of hazard they pose, the handling they require, and the first aid measures needed to treat exposure effectively.

SDS Comprehension Training

After the adoption of the GHS, SDSs were standardized. Now, all sheets contain the same 16 sections, which cover a breadth of information, such as hazard identification and composition, first-aid and accidental release measures, handling and storage, exposure and personal protection, and more.

The OSHA Brief on SDSs summarizes the sections as follows:

• Sections 1-8: “General information about the chemical, identification, hazards, composition, safe handling practices, and emergency measures.”

• Sections 9-11, 16: “Other scientific information, such as physical and chemical properties, stability and reactivity, toxicological information, exposure control information, and other information including the date of preparation or last revision.“

• Sections 12-15: “The SDS must also contain Sections 12 through 15, to be consistent with the [GHS], but OSHA will not enforce the content of these sections because they concern matters handled by other agencies.”

As for training workers to read and understand the information on these labels, OSHA released a list of minimum training requirements, which include:

• Training on label elements, including how the hazardous chemical is identified, how the signal word is used to indicate hazard severity, and how the pictogram is used to identify hazard categories – as well as how to read hazard statements, precautionary statements, and contact information for the product’s manufacturer, distributor, or importer.

• Understanding how to use labels in the workplace, including how workers can read labels to discover the proper storage for hazardous chemicals or to quickly locate first aid measures after exposure occurs. Additionally, workers must know where to find SDSs in the workplace, which employers must have available for every chemical used.

• Training on SDS format, including what each of its 16 sections entails, as well as understanding the universality of the format, such that Section 8 will cover the same topic across all chemicals for efficient use.

To this end, OSHA recommends using their Briefs and Quick Cards (see listed below) to help workers understand each of these elements and how they can be used throughout the working day.

Where Can I Learn More?

• Labels Quick Card & Brief

• Pictogram Quick Card & Brief

• Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Quick Card & Brief

• OSHA hazard communication standards across industries