11 Rules for Safe Handling of Hazardous Materials
Do your employees know how to handle hazardous materials safely? Here are 11 basic rules all employees who handle hazardous materials should know and follow.
Category: Chemicals
Today’s workplace uses thousands of chemicals, many of which are hazardous. The resources in this section will help guide you in the safe and legal identification, storage, transport, and use of these chemicals, and in making sure that your employees right to know how to be safe around such substances is provided, as required by law.
GHS—Understanding the New Hazard Communication Standard
Major Changes to HazCom—OSHA Finalizes GHS
OSHA has just announced that it will be finalizing the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) in the Federal Register of March 26, 2012. The good news here is you’ve got a lot of lead time to get in compliance with the updated hazard communication standard. If you are a […]
GHS Basics – What You Need to Know
In this Environmental Daily Advisor video, Kelly Lagana talks with Dave Galt about the new GHS (Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals) standard. Dave Galt is legal editor for BLR’s safety compliance products.
Hazardous Substance Storage: What are the Rules?
Here are some of the federal laws you should consider when storing hazardous substances: —Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), more commonly referred to as Superfund, was designed to help clean up inactive hazardous waste sites. It was modified to also require private industries to disclose to their communities and neighbors what hazardous […]
A Quick Guide to EPA’s MSDS Requirements
Under EPCRA, facilities covered by OSHA’s MSDS requirements are also responsible for following EPA’s MSDS reporting requirements. Pesticides MSDSs are considered part of pesticide labeling under FIFRA. Special EPA hazard statements must be placed on product labels, but there is no such requirement for revising MSDSs to include such statements. Need to know if one […]
Are Your MSDSs All Filled Out?
Each MSDS must contain certain information for each substance. Here’s what they’ve got to have. Chemical identity and composition The MSDS must describe the substance’s composition and, if a single substance, its chemical and common name(s). Mixtures It must describe the chemical and common name(s) of the ingredients that contribute to the known hazards and […]
Is It Time for Training
Many training articles are focused on the content of training. But another equally valid consideration is when to train, which is the topic of today’s Advisor. There are many different scenarios in the workplace when training is necessary or recommended. For example: 1. New employees or transferred employees should be trained before they are initially […]
Expert Weighs In On What EPA Will Be Doing with TSCA in 2012
In 2012, EPA will continue to require manufacturers and processors of existing chemicals to test their chemicals for health and environmental effects and submit the data to the Agency. Chemicals produced in annual volumes above 1 million pounds are considered High Production Volume or “HPV” chemicals. This subset of HPV chemicals is the main focus […]
GHS: A Necessary But Significant Change
Adoption of GHS by OSHA will affect HazCom compliance in significant ways. But experts say the change is necessary and will benefit U.S. businesses and workers. Adoption of GHS by OSHA will trigger the need for considerable retraining, according to Bernard K. Russiello of RC2 Consulting in West Grove, Pennsylvania. For example, instead of being […]