This news update discussing HazCom 2012 Compliance is brought to you by Safety.BLR.com
OSHA has updated its hazard communication standard (HazCom) to align with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). At BLR’s recent Safety Summit, consultant and toxicologist Anne Chappelle of Critical Path Services advised participants to use HazCom to encourage management to make investments that benefit worker health and the bottom line. Keep reading to learn about her insights.
HazCom 2012 compliance basics
OSHA anticipates the revised standard, known as HazCom 2012, will prevent 43 fatalities and 521 injuries and illnesses annually, with a net savings of over $507 million a year.
The revised standard is expected to affect every U.S. workplace with exposure to hazardous chemicals. These changes will ultimately impact over five million facilities and over 40 million workers.
For companies that use chemicals (and do not manufacture, import, or distribute them), GHS compliance primarily centers around training. By December 1 of 2013, employers were required to train their workers to understand the new label format and 16-section SDS that will be gradually phased in as chemical manufacturers update their materials. When employers receive new labels and SDSs for chemicals they use, they must train workers on any newly identified hazards. Any necessary changes to secondary workplace labeling systems or written hazard communication plans must be completed by June 1, 2016.
For more information on HazCom 2012 Compliance, please visit the Safety.BLR.com link above. Please contact Nexreg to learn more about our MSDS Authoring service.
