Hazard Communication Standard

Hazard Communication Standard in the United States

Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in Environmental Law

A regulation created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect workers who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals at work. It is often called the Worker’s RightToKnow.

The standard requires employers who use or create hazardous chemicals to establish a written program describing how the HCS will be met. Employees must be trained (and retrained any time a new chemical is introduced or they change jobs) and provided with information concerning the chemicals in the workplace. The employer must follow proper labeling procedures, provide access to the informational sheets the manufacturer or importer prepares (material safety data sheets, or MSDSs), and establish an emergency response system.

Since hazardous chemicals are everywhere, the HCS does not require separate training or programs for every chemical used in the workplace. Exceptions to the requirements include household chemicals if used in the same way and with the same frequency as those purchased for personal use, such as cleaners or copier toner, and articles that are manufactured in a particular form to do a particular job and do not expose an employees to hazardous chemicals when they are used as intended, such as a lead acid battery.

Hazardous chemicals are those chemicals that pose physical or health hazards. A physical hazard is a property of the chemical itself, such as flam mobility, explosion potential, instability, and reactivity. Health hazards include any potential harmful effects on people, such as chemicals that cause irritation, sensitization, corrosion, toxicity, cancer causing, and attack certain organs.

The Hazard Communication Standard requires proper labeling of the chemicals. The label must contain information about the identity of the chemical, directions for use, and warnings about physical and health hazards. For more detailed information about the chemical, the material safety data sheets must be consulted.

Material safety data sheets are prepared by the manufacturer or importer, but the employer using the hazardous chemical must obtain them if they are not included with the chemicals when they are received. Material safety data sheets must be maintained where the chemicals are being used or they must be readily accessible, as through computer access.

Information that must be on the material safety data sheets is as follows: identity of the chemical, physical and chemical characteristics, physical and health hazards, primary routes of exposure, permissible exposure limit, sources that represent the chemical as hazardous or carcinogens, safety precautions and control measures, emergency and first aid procedures, date of preparation and name and address of preparer. Because the details can be critical in an emergency situation, employers must train employees in locating the sheets and reading them. They must be available at all times during working hours.

Training is a major component of the Hazard Communication Standard. Employees are to be taught about the existence of the standard and dangers associated with working with hazardous chemicals. Education also must discuss how chemicals are introduced into the body, importance of labeling, and how to read material safety data sheets. Employees who need personal protective equipment (such as masks, gloves, or goggles) must be trained in their use. They must have specific instruction on the chemicals they will be dealing with and whom to contact in an emergency situation. In some states, retraining must be done annually

Required recordkeeping varies from state to state but generally documents who was trained along with a copy of the materials used. Many states have a single statute concerning the right to know, and it includes both community and worker rights. In the federal system, a community’s right to know is overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency. The law and regulations fall under the Emergency Planning and Community RightToKnow Act. The worker’s right to know, in contrast, falls under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s jurisdiction, and the rights are established by regulations, not a statute.
Based on “Environment and the Law. A Dictionary”.


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