Hazard communication (HazCom)

Scope

HazCom applies to general industry, shipyards, marine terminals, longshoring, construction, and agriculture. OSHA’s HCS applies specifically to:

• Chemical manufacturers and importers that produce or import hazardous chemicals;
• Employers with one or more employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals during normal operating conditions or in a foreseeable emergency; and
• Distributors who supply hazardous chemicals to employers and other distributors.

“Hazardous chemical” is defined in 1910.1200(c). However, not every hazardous chemical is covered by the HCS. Paragraph 1910.1200(b)(6) lists 12 substances exempted from the standard.

The HCS also has partial exemptions in paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4) for laboratories and operations where employees only handle chemicals in sealed containers. Moreover, paragraph (b)(5) offers HazCom labeling exemptions for certain substances.

Regulatory citations

• 29 CFR 1910.1200 — Hazard communication.
• 29 CFR 1915.1200 — Hazard communication.
• 29 CFR 1917.1 — Scope and applicability.
• 29 CFR 1918.1 — Scope and application.
• 29 CFR 1926.59 — Hazard communication.
• 29 CFR 1928.21 — Applicable standards in 29 CFR part 1910.

Key definitions

• Article: A manufactured item other than a fluid or particle: (i) which is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture; (ii) which has end use function(s) dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end use; and (iii) which under normal conditions of use does not release more than very small quantities, e.g., minute or trace amounts of a hazardous chemical (as determined under 1910.1200(d)), and does not pose a physical hazard or health risk to employees.
• Bulk shipment: Any hazardous chemical transported where the mode of transportation comprises the immediate container (i.e., contained in tanker truck, rail car, or intermodal container).
• Chemical: Any substance, or mixture of substances.
• Chemical manufacturer: An employer with a workplace where chemical(s) are produced for use or distribution.
• Classification: To identify the relevant data regarding the hazards of a chemical; review those data to ascertain the hazards associated with the chemical; and decide whether the chemical will be classified as hazardous according to the definition of hazardous chemical in 1910.1200. In addition, classification for health and physical hazards includes the determination of the degree of hazard, where appropriate, by comparing the data with the criteria for health and physical hazards.
• Combustible dust: Finely divided solid particulates of a substance or mixture that pose a flash-fire hazard or explosion hazard when dispersed in air or other oxidizing media.
• Common name: Any designation or identification such as code name, code number, trade name, brand name or generic name used to identify a chemical other than by its chemical name.
• Container: Any bag, barrel, bottle, box, can, cylinder, drum, reaction vessel, storage tank, or the like that contains a hazardous chemical. For purposes of 1910.1200, pipes or piping systems, and engines, fuel tanks, or other operating systems in a vehicle, are not considered to be containers.
• Distributor: A business, other than a chemical manufacturer or importer, which supplies hazardous chemicals to other distributors or to employers.
• Employee: A worker who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals under normal operating conditions or in foreseeable emergencies. Workers such as office workers or bank tellers who encounter hazardous chemicals only in non-routine, isolated instances are not covered.
• Exposure or exposed: An employee is subjected in the course of employment to a hazardous chemical, and includes potential (e.g., accidental or possible) exposure. “Subjected” in terms of health hazards includes any route of entry (e.g. inhalation, ingestion, skin contact or absorption).
• Foreseeable emergency: Any potential occurrence such as, but not limited to, equipment failure, rupture of containers, or failure of control equipment which could result in an uncontrolled release of a hazardous chemical into the workplace.
• Gas: A substance which (i) At 122°F (50°C) has a vapor pressure greater than 43.51 PSI (300 kPa) (absolute); or (ii) Is completely gaseous at 68°F (20°C) at a standard pressure of 14.69 PSI (101.3 kPa).
• Hazard category: The division of criteria within each hazard class, e.g., oral acute toxicity and flammable liquids include four hazard categories. These categories compare hazard severity within a hazard class and should not be taken as a comparison of hazard categories more generally.
• Hazard class: The nature of the physical or health hazards, e.g., flammable solid, carcinogen, oral acute toxicity.
• Hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC): An adverse physical or health effect identified through evaluation of scientific evidence during the classification process that does not meet the specified criteria for the physical and health hazard classes addressed in 1910.1200. This does not extend coverage to adverse physical and health effects for which there is a hazard class addressed in 1910.1200, but the effect either falls below the cut-off value/concentration limit of the hazard class or is under a GHS hazard category that has not been adopted by OSHA (e.g., acute toxicity Category 5).
• Hazard statement: A statement assigned to a hazard class and category that describes the nature of the hazard(s) of a chemical, including, where appropriate, the degree of hazard.
• Hazardous chemical: Any chemical which is classified as a physical hazard or a health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, or hazard not otherwise classified.
• Health hazard: A chemical which is classified as posing one of the following hazardous effects: acute toxicity (any route of exposure); skin corrosion or irritation; serious eye damage or eye irritation; respiratory or skin sensitization; germ cell mutagenicity; carcinogenicity; reproductive toxicity; specific target organ toxicity (single or repeated exposure); or aspiration hazard. The criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a health hazard are detailed in Appendix A to 1910.1200 — Health Hazard Criteria.
• Immediate outer package: The first package enclosing the container of hazardous chemical.
• Immediate use: The hazardous chemical will be under the control of and used only by the person who transfers it from a labeled container and only within the work shift in which it is transferred.
• Label: An appropriate group of written, printed or graphic information elements concerning a hazardous chemical that is affixed to, printed on, or attached to the immediate container of a hazardous chemical, or to the outside packaging.
• Label elements: The specified pictogram, hazard statement, signal word and precautionary statement for each hazard class and category.
• Liquid: A substance or mixture which at 122°F (50°C) has a vapor pressure of not more than 43.51 PSI (300 kPa (3 bar)), which is not completely gaseous at 68°F (20°C) and at a standard pressure of 101.3 kPa, and which has a melting point or initial melting point of 68°F (20°C) or less at a standard pressure of 14.69 PSI (101.3 kPa). Either ASTM D4359–90 (R2019) (incorporated by reference, see §1910.6); or the test for determining fluidity (penetrometer test) prescribed in section 2.3.4 of ADR 2019 (incorporated by reference, see §1910.6) can establish whether a viscous substance or mixture is a liquid if a specific melting point cannot be determined.
• Mixture: A combination or a solution composed of two or more substances in which they do not react.
• Physical hazard: A chemical that is classified as posing one of the following hazardous effects: explosive; flammable (gases, liquids, or solids); aerosols; oxidizer (gases, liquids, or solids); self-reactive; pyrophoric (liquids or solids); self-heating; organic peroxide; corrosive to metal; gas under pressure; in contact with water emits flammable gas; or desensitized explosive. See Appendix B to 1910.1200 — Physical Hazard Criteria.
• Physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP): An individual whose legally permitted scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or certification) allows the individual to independently provide or be delegated the responsibility to provide some or all of the health care services referenced in 1910.1200(i).
• Pictogram: A composition that may include a symbol plus other graphic elements, such as a border, background pattern, or color, that is intended to convey specific information about the hazards of a chemical. Eight pictograms are designated under this standard for application to a hazard category.
• Precautionary statement: A phrase that describes recommended measures that should be taken to minimize or prevent adverse effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous chemical, or improper storage or handling.
• Produce: To manufacture, process, formulate, blend, extract, generate, emit, or repackage.
• Product identifier: The name or number used for a hazardous chemical on a label or in the SDS. It provides a unique means by which the user can identify the chemical. The product identifier used shall permit cross-references to be made among the list of hazardous chemicals required in the written hazard communication program, the label and the SDS.
• Released for shipment: A chemical that has been packaged and labeled in the manner in which it will be distributed or sold.
• Responsible party: Someone who can provide additional information on the hazardous chemical and appropriate emergency procedures, if necessary.
• Safety data sheet (SDS): Written or printed material concerning a hazardous chemical that is prepared in accordance with 1910.1200(g).
• Signal word: A word used to indicate the relative level of severity of hazard and alert the reader to a potential hazard on the label. The signal words used in 1910.1200 are “danger” and “warning.” “Danger” is used for the more severe hazards, while “warning” is used for the less severe.
• Simple asphyxiant: A substance or mixture that displaces oxygen in the ambient atmosphere, and can thus cause oxygen deprivation in those who are exposed, leading to unconsciousness and death.
• Solid: A substance or mixture which does not meet the definitions of liquid or gas.
• Specific chemical identity: The chemical name, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number, or any other information that reveals the precise chemical designation of the substance.
• Substance: Chemical elements and their compounds in the natural state or obtained by any production process, including any additive necessary to preserve the stability of the product and any impurities deriving from the process used, but excluding any solvent which may be separated without affecting the stability of the substance or changing its composition.
• Trade secret: Any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, information or compilation of information that is used in an employer’s business, and that gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it. Appendix E to 1910.1200 sets out the criteria to be used in evaluating trade secrets.
• Use: To package, handle, react, emit, extract, generate as a byproduct, or transfer.
• Work area: A room or defined space in a workplace where hazardous chemicals are produced or used, and where employees are present.
• Workplace: An establishment, job site, or project, at one geographical location containing one or more work areas.

Summary of requirements

Employers who have one or more employees exposed to a hazardous chemical(s) under normal operating conditions or in foreseeable emergencies must:

• Identify and list all non-exempted hazardous chemicals found in their workplaces. This list is called a chemical inventory.
• Develop, implement, and maintain a written HazCom program unless exempted, that includes, but is not limited to, the chemical inventory and provisions for proper container labeling, SDSs, and employee information and training.
• Ensure safety data sheets (SDSs) are received and containers are labeled.
• Effectively inform and train employees on hazardous chemicals in their work area(s) at the time of initial assignment, and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced.

Chemical distributors have additional responsibilities for:

• Ensuring that shipping containers of non-exempt hazardous chemicals are labeled, tagged, or marked.
• Ensuring that an SDS is provided with initial shipments and with the first shipment after an SDS is updated.

Manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals have additional responsibilities, too, including, but not limited to:

• Evaluating and classifying chemicals as to their hazards.
• Creating and maintaining SDSs and sending copies downstream.
• Labeling shipped containers of hazardous chemicals.