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Mar 21, 2014

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard Gets an Update: Is Your Business Impacted?

By at least the summer of 2016, over 5 million workplaces and 43 million employees in the United States will be impacted by the newly revised federal Hazard Communication (HazCom) standard, the law governing employee warnings concerning the potential for hazardous chemical exposure.  In March 2012, OSHA, the agency charged with enforcement of worker health and safety laws, substantially revised the HazCom standard to adopt the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) within the amended HazCom standard.  Among other reasons, the changes were intended by OSHA to require a more standardized means of classifying… Read more


Oct 4, 2013

Training for Revised OSHA HAZCOM Must Be Completed by December 1

As a result of revisions to OSHA’s Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) regulations in 2012, MSDSs and product labels are being changed to more closely align with international standards.  As a result, OSHA has required employers to train their employees on the new labels and MSDSs (now referred to as Safety Data Sheets, or SDSs), no later than December 1, 2013.  Employers should revise training materials to incorporate the new label and SDS formats, and should conduct, and document, training of employees by December 1.  OSHA inspections after December 1 likely will check for compliance with the training requirements.  While the deadline… Read more