OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (Haz-Com)
Safety rules and regulations that we know under the hazard communication
standard are now changing including changes in the Material Safety Data Sheets labels
and warning requirements OSHA's hazard communication standard known as hazcom
will now integrate into the United Nations globally harmonized system of
classification and labeling of chemicals it will now be known as the hazard
communication any globally harmonized system or simply the GHS, the purpose of this article is to review the major changes that you're going to see the GHS or Globally
Harmonized System will now require chemical manufacturers to provide specific
criteria to address health and physical hazards as well as classification of
chemical mixtures.
Labels will be required to show much more information than before, for
example, chemical manufacturers and importers must provide a label that includes
a signal word a pictogram a hazard statement, and a precautionary statement for each
hazard class and category what we now know as material safety data sheets are
now going to be shortened in name and will be known simply as safety data
sheets or SDS instead of MSDS Safety Data Sheets.
SDS will now have a new
format that has 16 specific sections ensuring consistency in presentation of
important protection information OSHA's hazard communication standard is designed
to ensure that information about chemical hazards and associated protective
measures are disseminated to all workers this standard has been revised to include
the GHS the major changes you should know right now are hazard classification this
replaces hazard determination hazard classification provides specific criteria for
classification of health and physical hazards as well as classification of
mixtures labels, chemical manufacturers and importers will be required to
provide a label that includes a harmonized
signal word pictogram and hazard statement for each hazard class and category Safety
Data Sheets will now have a specified 16 section format in the new GHS all
chemicals will now be classified into three major hazard groupings the first
and the largest is physical hazards this includes items like explosives flammable
gases and aerosols flammable solids gases under pressure self-reactive
substances that can react violently with water and other solid substances that
emit a flammable gas when wet oxidizers like oxygen and hydrogen peroxide and
corrosives which are either strong acids strong bases or concentrated solutions
of certain weak acids or weak bases they can exist as any state of matter
including liquids solids gases mists or vapors the next major has a group is
health hazards examples of health hazards include acute toxicity for example hydrogen cyanide is a highly toxic
substance acute exposure at relatively low doses can result in death skin corrosions
or irritants can cause severe skin burns and/or eye damage another health
hazard is serious eye damage or eye irritation, then respiratory or skin sensitization sensitizers
can cause severe organ damage or major permanent functional changes in organ
systems, for example:the lungs
- Germ Cell Mutagenicity: These are chemicals which may cause mutations in the germ cells of humans and then these mutations can be transmitted to offspring.
- Carcinogens: These are chemicals associated with causing cancers.
Other toxic chemicals that affect the reproductive organs or other specific
organs and aspiration hazards. The third major hazard grouping is environmental
hazards this is new and OSHA does not have jurisdiction over environmentally toxic chemicals
the labeling and SDS requirements under GHS require environmental labeling but
OSHA considers this portion of the standard non-mandatory as environmental
hazards are regulated by the EPA therefore we will not be concerned with this
area it is being mentioned here for information purposes only.
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