RRT III 2012 OSHA Hazard Communication Training
State College, Pennsylvania
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
1320 - 1420
COORDINATOR: Adam Hamrick (OSHA Region III)
NOTES:
Mr. Hamrick welcomed everyone. He is the Region III point of contact for OSHA HAZCOM.
The FEMA Office of National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC) announced the release of
two new Independent Study (IS) courses on emergency preparedness for Federal employees:
1. IS-450 (Target Audience is those folks outside the Washington D.C. area/National Capital
Region (NCR)): http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/IS450.asp
2. IS-450.NC (Target Audience is for federal employees within the NCR):
http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/IS450NC.asp
Both courses introduce practical steps Federal employees can take to prepare for emergencies
that could threaten their homes, workplaces, or communities. The NCR version includes
information specific to the Washington, D.C. Area, including information on Metro, Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) closure and dismissal procedures, and local alerting systems.
Both courses take approximately one hour to complete.
These courses are designed so any Federal department or agency can choose to adopt them as
recommended or mandatory training, depending on agency needs. Some departments, like DHS,
intend to implement these courses as required training for all employees. Other organizations
may choose to recommend these courses to employees with certain emergency duties, like
members of an Emergency Relocation Group or Occupant Emergency Team.
These courses can be taken online, for free, at the public website for the FEMA Independent
Study Program, available at http://www.training.fema.gov/is/. Employees who complete training
through this website will receive a certificate of completion after successfully passing a final
exam. In addition, these courses may be available to load into your agency's own internal
learning management system.
PRESENTATION: OSHA’s Final Rule to Modify the Hazard Communication Standard
(Adam Hamrick, OSHA, Region 3)
This presentation is provided in its entirety on the RRT Region III website at:
http://www.rrt3.nrt.org. For additional information or if you have any other questions on this
topic, please contact Adam Hamrick (hamrick.adam@dol.gov; 215-861-4930).
OSHA Hazard Communication Training
State College, Pennsylvania
September 11, 2012
Page 2 of 4
In order to ensure chemical safety in the workplace, information about the identities and hazards
of the chemicals must be available and understandable to workers. OSHA's Hazard
Communication Standard (HCS) requires the development and dissemination of such
information:

Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to evaluate the hazards of the
chemicals they produce or import, and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the
hazard information to their downstream customers;

All employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must have labels and safety
data sheets for their exposed workers, and train them to handle the chemicals
appropriately.
The OAHA HCS has been revised to better align the requirements with the United Nations’
Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of chemicals. The Final
Rule was filed on March 20th at the Office of the Federal Register and available for viewing at
http://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/ghs-final-rule.html. The Federal Register published the final
rule on March 26, 2012. The effective date of the final rule is 60 days after the date of
publication. Notable changes within the Final Rule include:

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. Precautionary statements must also be provided.

Safety Data Sheets (SDSs): Replace Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and will now
have a specified 16-section format.

Information and training: Employers are required to train workers by December 1,
2013 on the new labels elements and safety data sheets format to facilitate recognition
and understanding.
In general, the HCS require chemical manufacturers, distributors or importers to provide SDSs to
communicate the hazards of chemical products. As of June 1, 2015, the HCS will required new
SDSs to be in a uniform format, and include the section numbers, heading, and associated
information for the following:



Section 1, Identification includes product identifier; manufacturer or distributor name,
address, phone number; emergency phone number; recommended use; restrictions on use.
Section 2, Hazard(s) identification includes all hazards regarding the chemical; required
label elements.
Section 3, Composition/information on ingredients includes information on chemical
ingredients; trade secret claims.
OSHA Hazard Communication Training
State College, Pennsylvania
September 11, 2012
Page 3 of 4
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Section 4, First-aid measures includes important symptoms/effects, acute, delayed;
required treatment.
Section 5, Fire-fighting measures lists suitable extinguishing techniques, equipment;
chemical hazards from fire.
Section 6, Accidental release measures provides emergency procedures; protective
equipment; proper methods of containment and cleanup.
Section 7, Handling and storage includes precautions for safe handling and storage,
including incompatibilities.
Section 8, Exposure controls/personal protection lists OSHA's Permissible Exposure
Limits (PELs); Threshold Limit Values (TLVs); appropriate engineering controls;
personal protective equipment (PPE).
Section 9, Physical and chemical properties lists the chemical's characteristics.
Section 10, Stability and reactivity contains chemical stability and possibility of
hazardous reactions.
Section 11, Toxicological information includes routes of exposure; related symptoms,
acute and chronic effects; numerical measures of toxicity.
Section 12, Ecological information (non-mandatory)
Section 13, Disposal considerations (non-mandatory)
Section 14, Transport information (non-mandatory)
Section 15, Regulatory information (non-mandatory)
Section 16, Other information, includes the date of preparation or last revision.
The dates of importance associated with the implementation of this Final Rule include (taken
from http://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/HCSFactsheet.html):
Effective
Completion Date
Requirement(s)
Who
December 1, 2013
Train employees on the new label elements and SDS
format.
Employers
June 1, 2015*
December 1, 2015
Comply with all modified provisions of this final rule,
except:
Distributors may ship products labeled by manufacturers
under the old system until December 1, 2015.
Chemical
manufacturers,
importers, distributors
and employers
June 1, 2016
Update alternative workplace labeling and hazard
communication program as necessary, and provide
additional employee training for newly identified physical
or health hazards.
Employers
Transition Period
Comply with either 29 CFR 1910.1200 (this final
standard), or the current standard, or both.
All chemical
manufacturers,
importers, distributors
and employers
*This date coincides with the European Union implementation date for classification of mixtures.
OSHA Hazard Communication Training
State College, Pennsylvania
September 11, 2012
Page 4 of 4
OSHA has developed Quick Cards (in both English and Spanish) to promote the new HCS.
Quick Cards available online (http://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/ghsquickcards.html) include:
 Safety Data Sheets – new standardized communication reporting identifying the hazards
associated with hazardous chemical products;
 Standard Labeling Requirements for hazardous chemicals; and
 Standard Pictograms for labeling – to alert users of the chemical hazards to which they
may be exposed.
The Meeting Adjourned at 1420.