|
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) within the US Department of Labor. The original
Act included language to the effect that employees should be apprised of all
hazards to which they are exposed on the job. In the early 80's, OSHA implemented
this instruction by enacting the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) as 29 CFR
1910.1200. The HCS became effective in 1986. A fundamental premise of the HCS
is that employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals in the workplace
have a right to know about the hazards and how to protect themselves. For this
reason, the HCS is sometimes referred to as the Worker Right-to-Know Legislation,
or more often just as the Right-to-Know law. Although the original HCS applied
only to the manufacturing industry, subsequent court challenges have modified
the scope of the law so that today the HCS applies to nearly all sectors or the
work force.
The Hazard Communication Standard sets forth guidelines and requirements
in six areas:
Requires that all chemicals in the workplace be labeled. The information which
must be present includes the name of the chemical and warnings about any
hazards the material may present. This requirement may be implemented in
a variety of ways. Two such systems are the NFPA Hazard Identification System
and the Hazardous Materials Identification Guide.
An MSDS is a document that gives detailed information about a material, including
any hazards associated with the material. MSDSs must be immediately available
to employees at locations where hazardous materials are used. See the linked
page for more information.
Says that the employer must identify and maintain a list of all hazardous chemicals
used in the workplace.
Mandates that the employer develop a written plan, the Hazard Communication
Program, detailing how the requirements of the HCS are implemented by the
employer.
Requires that the employer provide to the employees training covering handling
of hazardous materials, use and interpretation of both MSDSs and hazcom labels,
and information about the HCS.
Sets forth the conditions under which a manufacturer may withhold information
about a material, and the conditions under which such information must be
divulged to health care providers.
The United States OSHA maintains a number of fact sheets, some of which are
relevant to this topic.
Back to safety
| 
