Labeling (HazCom)

Scope

The chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace is labeled, tagged, or marked. Hazards not otherwise classified do not have to be addressed on the container. Employers must ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals in the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked.

Section 1910.1200 does not require labeling of the following chemicals:

• Any pesticide as such term is defined in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.), when subject to the labeling requirements of that Act and labeling regulations issued under that Act by the Environmental Protection Agency;
• Any chemical substance or mixture as such terms are defined in the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), when subject to the labeling requirements of that Act and labeling regulations issued under that Act by the Environmental Protection Agency;
• Any food, food additive, color additive, drug, cosmetic, or medical or veterinary device or product, including materials intended for use as ingredients in such products (e.g. flavors and fragrances), as such terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) or the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act of 1913 (21 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), and regulations issued under those Acts, when they are subject to the labeling requirements under those Acts by either the Food and Drug Administration or the Department of Agriculture;
• Any distilled spirits (beverage alcohols), wine, or malt beverage intended for nonindustrial use, as such terms are defined in the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) and regulations issued under that Act, when subject to the labeling requirements of that Act and labeling regulations issued under that Act by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives;
• Any consumer product or hazardous substance as those terms are defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) and Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) respectively, when subject to a consumer product safety standard or labeling requirement of those Acts, or regulations issued under those Acts by the Consumer Product Safety Commission; and,
• Agricultural or vegetable seed treated with pesticides and labeled in accordance with the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C. 1551 et seq.) and the labeling regulations issued under that Act by the Department of Agriculture.

Regulatory citations

• 29 CFR 1910.1200 — Hazard Communication

Key definitions

• Chemical manufacturer: An employer with a workplace where chemical(s) are produced for use or distribution.
• Container: Any bag, barrel, bottle, box, can, cylinder, drum, reaction vessel, storage tank, or the like that contains a hazardous chemical. For purposes of this section, pipes or piping systems, and engines, fuel tanks, or other operating systems in a vehicle, are not considered to be containers.
• 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 this section. This does not extend coverage to adverse physical and health effects for which there is a hazard class addressed in this section, 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 HazCom 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.
• 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 must permit cross-references to be made among the list of hazardous chemicals required in the written hazard communication program, the label, and the SDS.
• 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 this section are “danger” and “warning.” “Danger” is used for the more severe hazards, while “warning” is used for the less severe

Summary of requirements

OSHA will look for the following to ensure that labeling is properly implemented in your facility:

• Designation of person(s) responsible for ensuring labeling of in-plant containers;
• Designation of person(s) responsible for ensuring labeling of any shipped containers;
• Description of any in-plant labeling system(s) (if used);
• Description of written alternatives to labeling of in-plant containers (if used); and,
• Procedures to review and update label information when necessary.

If materials are transferred into other containers, the employer must ensure that these are labeled as well, unless they fall under the portable container exemption [29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(8)].

In terms of workplace labeling systems, employers can simply choose to use the label elements found on the original, shipped container, or they can label the container with the product identifier and words, pictures, symbols, or a combination of these, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical. This option includes the use of an alternative labeling system, such as NFPA or HMIS.

Label information. Labels must be legible, in English, and prominently displayed on the container, or readily available in the work area throughout each work shift.

Employers with employees who speak other languages may add the information in their language to the material presented, as long as the information is presented in English as well.

Employers purchasing chemicals can rely on the labels provided by their suppliers. If the material is subsequently transferred by the employer from a labeled container to another container, the employer will have to label that container unless it is subject to the portable container exemption.

The product identifier is any term which appears on the label, the SDS, and the list of chemicals, and thus links these three sources of information. The identity used by the supplier may be a common or trade name (“Black Magic Formula”), or a chemical name (1,1,1,-trichloroethane). The hazard warning is a brief statement of the hazardous effects of the chemical (“flammable,” “causes lung damage”).

Supplemental hazard information. Chemical manufacturers and importers are free to provide additional label information regarding the hazardous chemical and precautions for safe handling and use. OSHA refers to this as supplemental information.

To ensure that non-standardized information does not lead to unnecessarily wide variation or undermine the required information, supplementary information on the label is limited to when it provides further detail and does not contradict or cast doubt on the validity of the standardized hazard information.

Where supplementary information is added the label, its placement cannot impede identification of information required by the standard.

Hazard not otherwise classified. Hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC) means an adverse physical or health effect that does not meet the specified criteria for the physical or health hazard classes in the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). It covers effects which either fall below the cut-off value/concentration limit of the hazard class or is under a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) hazard category that has not been adopted by OSHA (e.g., acute toxicity Category 5). HNOCs have no labeling requirements.