The appropriate osha standard for hazard communication

18.1.6.1.3 Hazard Communication Standard

The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) was established to provide workers the “right-to-know” of potential hazards associated with their jobs. HCS is a proactive measure to disseminate information to workers and employers about the health hazards pertaining to the chemicals they handle and the protection required. Employers are required to prepare and implement a hazard communication (HAZCOM) program, ensure that all containers have appropriate labels, provide employees easy access to MSDSs, and conduct training programs. The HAZCOM program is the written plan of action that describes the standard implementation strategy for a given facility.

4 Employee Training

Under the HCS, employers must establish a training and information program for all employees routinely exposed to hazardous chemicals in their workplace. This training must be provided at the time of initial assignment and whenever a new hazard is introduced. The standard is performance-oriented, specifying the results but not mandating the methods to be used. At a minimum, the following topics must be thoroughly covered:

The Health Communication Standard: Employees must be informed of the existence of the HCS, what it requires, and what it will do for them.

Terminology: Must be understandable.

MSDSs: Availability and content.

Labels.

The written HCS program.

Specific chemicals used by each employee.

Appropriate personal protective equipment.

First aid and emergency procedures.

It is advisable to document which employees have been trained and when they received the training. If any Subpart Z substances with specific health standards are used, their specific requirements for safe use must be incorporated into the training program.

13.9.2.1.2 Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) (29 CFR 1910.1200)

The HCS requires information on hazardous chemicals to be transmitted to employees through labels, material safety data sheets (MSDS), and training programs. A written hazard communications program and record keeping are also required.

A substance is a “hazardous chemical” if it is a “physical hazard” or a “health hazard”. A flammable or explosive liquid is a “physical hazard”. A flammable liquid means “any liquid having a flash point below 110°F (37.8°C), except any mixture having components with flash points of 100°F (37.8°C) or higher, the total of which make up 99% or more of the total volume of the mixture”. “Health hazard” means “a chemical for which there is statistically significant evidence based on at least one valid study that acute or chronic health effects may occur in exposed employees”. Hexane and all the solvents listed in Table 13.9.3 would require MSDS since all are flammable liquids (physical hazards) as defined by OSHA and/or possible health hazards because all, except hexane isomers, have a U.S. OSHA PEL. However, hexane isomers have an American Conference of Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV),10 which many states and countries enforce as a mandatory standard.

Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to review the available scientific evidence concerning the hazards of chemicals they produce or import, and to report the information to manufacturing employers who use their products. If a chemical mixture has not been tested as a whole to determine whether the mixture is a hazardous chemical, the mixture is assumed to present the same hazards as do the components that comprise 1% or greater of the mixture or a carcinogenic hazard if it contains a component in concentration of 0.1% or greater that is a carcinogen. Commercial hexane containing 52% n-hexane has been tested and found not to be neurotoxic, unlike pure n-hexane.11–13 So mixtures with less than 52% n-hexane should not be considered to be a neurotoxin, although n-hexane would have to be listed on the MSDS, if in greater quantity than 1% of the mixture.

OSHA Hazard Communication Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) (United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2012) is representative of one type of performance-oriented standard among occupational safety and health regulations. The standard requires chemical manufacturers to evaluate the hazards of chemicals they produce or import. Based on the hazard evaluation, the standard requires that labels and SDSs be prepared according to specified criteria to convey hazard information and protective measures to employees and downstream users. The HCS is considered a performance-oriented regulation because it covers all hazardous chemicals and types of employment but, other than specifying classification of hazards, selection of hazard phrases, and labeling content, does not stipulate how to comply with its requirements. HCS does not require testing of materials, but rather relies on available data. Under the “General Duty” clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the manufacturers are clearly responsible for maintaining a safe workplace and consequently using all available data for evaluating the hazards of materials produced. The health hazards, as classified, that accompany OSHA Hazard Communications Standard are listed in Table 2. (Note: Specification of physical hazards, also included in the HCS, is considered beyond the scope of this discussion; the reader is referred to the text of HCS for further detail.)

Table 2. Toxicological hazard classification schemes according to the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (2013), the US OSHA HCS (2012; “HazCom 2012”), the EU Regulation on classification, packaging and labelling (2008; “EU CPL”), the EU Directive on Classification and Labeling (1967), and the Canadian WHMIS (1988)

Employee information and training

The employer shall communicate information concerning lead hazards according to the requirements of OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard for the construction industry, 29 CFR 1926.59, including but not limited to the requirements concerning warning signs and labels, material safety data sheets (MSDS), and employee information and training. In addition, employers shall comply with the following requirements:

The employer shall train each employee who is subject to exposure to lead at or above the action level on any day, or who is subject to exposure to lead compounds which may cause skin or eye irritation (e.g., lead arsenate, lead azide), in accordance with the requirements of this section. The employer shall institute a training program and ensure employee participation in the program.

The employer shall provide the training program as initial training prior to the time of job assignment or prior to the start-up date for this requirement, whichever comes last.

The employer shall also provide the training program at least annually for each employee who is subject to lead exposure at or above the action level on any day.

The employer shall ensure that each employee is trained in the following:

The content of this standard and its appendices

The specific nature of the operations that could result in exposure to lead above the action level

The purpose, proper selection, fitting, use, and limitations of respirators

The purpose and a description of the medical surveillance program, and the medical removal protection program including information concerning the adverse health effects associated with excessive exposure to lead (with particular attention to the adverse reproductive effects on both males and females and hazards to the fetus and additional precautions for employees who are pregnant)

The engineering controls and work practices associated with the employee's job assignment including training of employees to follow relevant good work practices

The contents of any compliance plan in effect; instructions to employees that chelating agents should not routinely be used to remove lead from their bodies and should not be used at all except under the direction of a licensed physician; and the employee's right of access to records under 29 CFR 1910.20

11.10 Product Stewardship

Product stewardship means taking responsibility for the environmental, safety, and health impact of products at key points during the life cycle of the material, including design, manufacture, use, recycling, and disposal. This stewardship is especially important when developing a new material because the initiative and the costs of dealing with such matters will fall on the developer. Customers, workers, disposal services, and other end users of the material may each have different requirements when it comes to accepting the material.

The health communication standard (HCS) requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, or importers to provide SDSs to communicate the hazards of hazardous chemical products. As of June 1, 2015, the HCS requires new SDSs to be in a uniform format with 16 specified sections (OSHA, 2012) including

Identification

Hazard(s) identification

Composition/information on ingredients

First-aid measures

Fire-fighting measures

Accidental release measures

Handling and storage

Exposure controls/personal protection

Physical and chemical properties

Stability and reactivity

Toxicological information

Ecological information (nonmandatory)

Disposal considerations (nonmandatory)

Transport information (nonmandatory)

Regulatory information (nonmandatory)

Other information, including date of preparation or last revision

The International Standards Organization (ISO)/TR 13329:2012 standard, Nanomaterials—Preparation of Material SDS, also provides guidance on the development of content for, and consistency in, the communication of information on safety, health, and environmental matters in SDS for substances classified as manufactured nanomaterials and for chemical products containing manufactured nanomaterials.

Additional and equal important product stewardship activities should include product safety testing, proper labeling, noting any possible transportation issues (e.g., dangerous goods), responding to customer inquiries, compliance with product safety regulations, consideration, and guidance for recycling and disposal.

OSHA Requirements

For companies operating in the United States, the design, content, and application of an MSDS are explained in detail in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s 1910.1200 (g) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). Some of the key points with regard to this four-page standard are as follows:

The manufacturer and/or distributor of a chemical is responsible for writing and distributing the MSDS.

The MSDS must contain information describing the hazardous properties of the chemical.

Flammability and explosive properties of the chemical.

First aid and other treatment measures should be described.

A name and address of where more information can be obtained, if needed.

OSHA provides the following guidance with respect to MSDS:

Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to obtain or develop a material safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical they produce or import. Distributors are responsible for ensuring that their customers are provided a copy of these MSDSs. Employers must have an MSDS for each hazardous chemical which they use. Employers may rely on the information received from their suppliers. The specific requirements for material safety data sheets are in paragraph (g) of the standard…

The role of MSDSs under the rule is to provide detailed information on each hazardous chemical, including its potential hazardous effects, its physical and chemical characteristics, and recommendations for appropriate protective measures. This information should be useful to you as the employer responsible for designing protective programs, as well as to the workers. If you are not familiar with material safety data sheets and with chemical terminology, you may need to learn to use them yourself. A glossary of MSDS terms may be helpful in this regard. Generally speaking, most employers using hazardous chemicals will primarily be concerned with MSDS information regarding hazardous effects and recommended protective measures. Focus on the sections of the MSDS that are applicable to your situation.

MSDSs must be readily accessible to employees when they are in their work areas during their workshifts. This may be accomplished in many different ways. You must decide what is appropriate for your particular workplace. Some employers keep the MSDSs in a binder in a central location (e.g., in the pick-up truck on a construction site). Others, particularly in workplaces with large numbers of chemicals, computerize the information and provide access through terminals. As long as employees can get the information when they need it, any approach may be used. The employees must have access to the MSDSs themselves—simply having a system where the information can be read to them over the phone is only permitted under the mobile worksite provision, paragraph (g)(9), when employees must travel between workplaces during the shift. In this situation, they have access to the MSDSs prior to leaving the primary worksite, and when they return, so the telephone system is simply an emergency arrangement.

When conducting an inspection, OSHA looks for the following information to do with MSDS:

Designation of person(s) responsible for obtaining and maintaining the MSDSs.

How the sheets are to be accessed and kept up to date in the workplace.

Procedures to follow when the MSDS is not received at the time of the first shipment.

For producers, procedures to update the MSDS when new and significant health information is found.

Description of alternatives to actual data sheets in the workplace, if used.

For employers using hazardous chemicals, the most important aspect of the written program in terms of MSDSs is to ensure that someone is responsible for obtaining and maintaining the MSDSs for every hazardous chemical in the workplace. The list of hazardous chemicals required to be maintained as part of the written program will serve as an inventory. As new chemicals are purchased, the list should be updated. Many companies have found it convenient to include on their purchase orders the name and address of the person designated in their company to receive MSDS.

Within the United States there is no regulation as to how often MSDSs should be updated or revalidated. Canadian law requires that this be done at least every 3 years; this update frequency is often used as a good practice, even when it is not a legal requirement.

OSHA states the following regarding storing MSDS in electronic format only:

If the employee’s work area includes the area where the MSDSs can be obtained, then maintaining MSDSs on a computer would be in compliance. If the MSDSs can only be accessed out of the employee’s work area(s), then the employer would not be in compliance with 1910.1200(g)(8) or (9) and 1926.59 (h)(1)(i-v).

Level I: Small Isolated Areas

The following applies to 10 sq. ft or less areas; for example, ceiling tiles and small areas on walls.

Remediation can be conducted by the regular building maintenance staff as long as they are trained on proper cleanup methods, personal protection, and potential health hazards. This training can be performed as part of a program to comply with the requirements of the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200).

Respiratory protection (e.g., N95 disposable respirator) is recommended. Respirators must be used in accordance with the OSHA respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134). Gloves and eye protection should be worn.

The work area should be unoccupied. Removing people from spaces adjacent to the work area is not necessary, but is recommended for infants (<12 months old), persons recovering from recent surgery, immune-suppressed people, or people with chronic inflammatory lung diseases (e.g., asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and severe allergies).

Containment of the work area is not necessary. Dust suppression methods, such as misting (not soaking) surfaces prior to remediation, are recommended.

Contaminated materials that cannot be cleaned should be removed from the building in a sealed impermeable plastic bag. These materials may be disposed of as ordinary waste.

The work area and areas used by remediation workers for egress should be cleaned with a damp cloth or mop and a detergent solution.

All areas should be left dry and visibly free from contamination and debris.

7.0 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

There are many sources of toxicology data relevant to plasma etching processes. Hopefully, the occupational health and safety program of the employer or educational institution will have adequately prepared each worker to read, understand, and follow the information on material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and labels. The authors are equally hopeful that each manufacturer/supplier of hazardous chemicals has exercised due diligence in preparing the MSDSs, labels, and other product information. It is recognized, however, that the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) mandates collection and presentation of data on hazardous substances and does not require that information be generated. This distinction means that there is not necessarily any incentive to conduct, for example, toxicology studies to identify potential health hazards, industrial hygiene tests to refine monitoring methods and to define appropriate materials for personal protective equipment, or biomedical research to identify useful biomedical tests and treatment therapies.

The toxicology, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, and safety professionals responsible for a workplace will be invaluable resources for health and safety information. These professionals often draw on a wealth of experience relevant to the plasma etching processes and are in the best possible position to apply “academic” information to actual workplace situations. They have often partnered with commercial vendors and suppliers to improve recognition and control of hazards and to make such findings available to the research community through journal articles, training materials, personal interactions, and textbooks such as this one. Recent responsible care and regulatory incentives have led several chemical manufacturers to develop and institute product stewardship programs which further facilitate information sharing as well as health, safety, and environmental protection.

The secondary reference materials on which the authors have relied in the compilation of this toxicology information are listed below; primary references can be found in and identified from those secondary references. In addition, the reader is referred to the on-line databases available through the National Library of Medicine (NLM) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health.[25] The dozens of biomedical and toxicology databases available through NLM contain information from thousands of major publications, including peer-reviewed technical journals and regulatory agency documents. The NLM databases usually reflect the most recent available information and they often serve as the only convenient source for information submitted for regulatory compliance. The databases are fully searchable and can be accessed with user-friendly software.