• Certain hazardous substances are exempt from coverage by the Hazard Communication standard.

Certain hazardous substances are regulated by other agencies; therefore, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has exempted them from coverage by the Hazard Communication standard. The standard does not apply to the following substances:

• Any hazardous waste, as defined and regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
• Any hazardous substance, as defined and regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
• Tobacco or tobacco products.
• Wood or wood products, including lumber which will not be processed, where the chemical manufacturer or importer can establish that the only hazard the products pose to employees is the potential for combustion.
• Food or alcoholic beverages which are sold, used, or prepared in a retail establishment (such as a grocery store or restaurant) and foods intended for personal consumption by employees while in the workplace.
• Any drug as defined by the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) when it is in solid, final form for direct administration to the patient (e.g., pills), drugs packaged by the chemical manufacturer for sale to consumers (e.g., over-the-counter drugs), and drugs intended for personal consumption by employees while in the workplace (e.g., first aid supplies).
• Cosmetics packaged for sale to consumers and those intended for personal use by employees in the workplace.
• Any consumer product or hazardous substance as defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act and Federal Hazardous Substances Act respectively, used in the workplace in the same manner as normal consumer use, and which use results in exposure which is not greater than exposures experienced by consumers.
• Nuisance particles when they do not pose any physical or health hazard covered by the HazCom standard.
• Ionizing and nonionizing radiation.
• Biological hazards.
• Articles.