Hazard Communication – 1910.1200

To ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are classified, and that information concerning the classified hazards is transmitted to employers and employees.

This occupational safety and health standard is intended to address comprehensively the issue of classifying the potential hazards of chemicals, and communicating information concerning hazards and appropriate protective measures to employees, and to preempt any legislative or regulatory enactments of a state, or political subdivision of a state, pertaining to this subject. Classifying the potential hazards of chemicals and communicating information concerning hazards and appropriate protective measures to employees, may include, for example, but is not limited to, provisions for:

• Developing and maintaining a written hazard communication program for the workplace, including lists of hazardous chemicals present.
• Labeling of containers of chemicals in the workplace as well as of containers of chemicals being shipped to other workplaces.
• Preparation and distribution of safety data sheets to employees and downstream employers.
• Development and implementation of employee training programs regarding hazards of chemicals and protective measures.

Chemical manufacturers or importers must classify the hazards of chemicals which they produce or import, and all employers to provide information to their employees about the hazardous chemicals to which they are exposed, by means of a hazard communication program, labels and other forms of warning, safety data sheets, and information and training. In addition, this section requires distributors to transmit the required information to employers. (Employers who do not produce or import chemicals need only focus on those parts of this rule that deal with establishing a workplace program and communicating information to their workers.)

Employers shall ensure that laboratory employees are provided information and training.

In work operations where employees only handle chemicals in sealed containers which are not opened under normal conditions of use (such as are found in marine cargo handling, warehousing, or retail sales), this section applies to these operations only as follows:

• Employers shall ensure that employees are provided with information and training in (except for the location and availability of the written hazard communication program to the extent necessary to protect them in the event of a spill or leak of a hazardous chemical from a sealed container.