Happy 2013! With the beginning of every New Year comes predictions
for the future, and the vast majority of them turn out to be false. However, I
have one sure-fire, slam-dunk prediction for the year after next that will no doubt come true.
In fact, you can bet the house on it! Here
it is:
“In
2014, OSHA will issue more citations for violations of 1910.1200(h)(3)(iv)
during the year than for any other standard in the book.”
Now most people who make predictions do
so for the coming year. So why am I making a prediction for 2014, which is two
years in advance? Because OSHA just revised their Hazard Communication standard
to align with the United Nation’s “Globally Harmonized System of Classification
and Labeling of Chemicals”, commonly referred to as “GHS”. And buried in that revised
standard is a significant change to the employee training requirements that every
covered employer in the country will have to have in place by December 1, 2013. And
I’m betting that many employers will be caught flat-footed when 2014 rolls
around, either having not conducted the additional required training at all, or
not covering the required topics adequately. And that is when OSHA will start
handing out the citations!
In the revised Haz-Com standard,
manufacturers and distributors of hazardous chemicals and products actually have
until December 1, 2015 to standardize how they categorize the hazards of their
products, as well as the information and format of their container labels and
Safety Data Sheets (formerly known as MSDS’s). And employers will have until
that date to get these new items in place at their facilities. However, OSHA added some significant
new requirements for employers to train their workers about these pending
changes, and they are only giving you until December 1, 2013 to complete all of
this additional training.
So what must you get started covering right
now to make certain you get all the required training completed by December 1st
of this year and avoid the possibility of citations. If you look closely at the specific
standard I mentioned above [1910.1200(h)(3)(iv)], you will see that OSHA now requires
workers to be provided with training so they understand: 1) the labels on
shipped containers and the workplace labeling system used by their employer; and,
2) new Safety Data Sheets (aka SDS’s), including the order of information on
those sheets and how employees can obtain and use the appropriate hazard
information to protect themselves.
While that standard looks very similar to the old Haz-Com training requirements, the actual elements of the labeling and Safety Data Sheets (SDS’s) have significantly changed and will require extensive training for workers. Here is an overview of the major differences that will have to be covered in the training this year:
While that standard looks very similar to the old Haz-Com training requirements, the actual elements of the labeling and Safety Data Sheets (SDS’s) have significantly changed and will require extensive training for workers. Here is an overview of the major differences that will have to be covered in the training this year:
Training
on Container Labels & In-house Labeling Systems:
All containers of hazardous chemicals will now have to be labeled with
the following information:
·
Product
identifier;
·
Signal
word*;
·
Hazard
statement(s)*;
·
Pictogram(s)*;
·
Precautionary
statement(s)*; and,
·
Name,
address, and telephone number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other
responsible party
The four bullet points above that are marked
with a red asterisk (*) are new to the OSHA Haz-Com
standard. Be aware that OSHA has very specific requirements for how that
information is to be formatted on labels [see 1910.1200(f)(1) and (2)], and
this must be specifically addressed with your employees during training.
Training
on Safety Data Sheets
(formerly known as material safety data sheets): Safety Data Sheets (SDS’s) for
all hazardous chemicals in the workplace will have to be formatted to include
specific section numbers and headings, and contain all associated information
under each heading, in the specific order listed below:
·
Section
1 - Identification;
·
Section
2 - Hazard(s) identification;
·
Section
3 - Composition/information on ingredients;
·
Section
4 - First-aid measures;
·
Section
5 - Fire-fighting measures;
· Section
6 - Accidental release measures;
·
Section
7 - Handling and storage;
·
Section
8 - Exposure controls/personal protection;
·
Section
9 - Physical and chemical properties;
·
Section
10 - Stability and reactivity;
·
Section
11 - Toxicological information;
·
Section
12 - Ecological information;
·
Section
13 - Disposal considerations;
·
Section
14 - Transport information;
·
Section
15 - Regulatory information; and,
·
Section
16 - Other information, including date of preparation or last revision
So while the old OSHA Haz-Com standard
required training on MSDS’s in general, the revised standard is very specific about
the training workers will need; For example, they must now understand the specific order
of the information appearing on the SDS’s, and in which sections they can obtain
the appropriate hazard information they seek.
In addition to making sure all affected
workers receive training on the new labeling and Safety Data Sheet requirements,
there is actually one more part of the standard that will also have to be
specifically covered during employee training sessions. According to 1910.1200(h)(3)(ii)
(which I also predict will be cited by OSHA quite a bit in 2014), employees have
to be trained not only to understand the general physical and health hazards of
the hazardous products in the workplace, as was the case with the old standard,
but also specifics about the simple asphyxiation, combustible dust,
and pyrophoric gas hazards, as well as hazards not otherwise
classified, of the chemicals in the work area. These hazard categories were
not specifically spelled out in the old standard, so no doubt OSHA will be
looking for clear evidence that these topics were also covered, where
applicable, in your upcoming training sessions.
I found it interesting that OSHA
requires employers to provide the training by December 1, 2013, yet the actual
labeling and SDS requirements don’t have to be implemented until a couple of
years later. OSHA did this because they believe that American workplaces will soon begin to receive labels and
SDSs that are consistent with the revised Haz-Com standard, since many domestic and foreign chemical
manufacturers already produce GHS-compliant labels and
SDSs. And the agency feel it is important to ensure that when workers begin to see the new types of labels
and SDSs at work, they will be familiar with them, understand how to
use them, and be able to access the information effectively. So for a while at least, employees will need to understand both
the old and the new Haz-Com labeling systems and safety data sheets until
everything gets transitioned to the new systems.
While it may appear to be a daunting
task to accomplish all of this training in just a few short months, there are
many resources to assist employers in meeting the deadline. Our company is offering
free monthly OSHA Toolbox talks on our sister website (click here to see the list) that you can download to assist with your in-house training efforts. Each
month, the toolbox talk will address one aspect of the revised Haz-Com training
requirements, with the goal of covering them all by December 1, 2013. We also
offer training DVDs to help you meet the mandatory training requirements (click here). And last but not least, there
are many OSHA Trainers standing by who can conduct the training for you if
needed (click here to find one). Whatever approach you take, I’d urge you to
get started right away if you have not already. And by getting started now
rather than later, you can avoid being one of the many employers who I predicted
will get dinged by OSHA in 2014.
Have you already taken
any steps to train your workers on the new employee training elements contained
in the revised OSHA Hazard Communication Standard? If so, please share with our readers how you are
going about this in the “comments” section below. And
last but not least, please pass a link
to this blog post along to others in your network who you think may benefit from
this information.