Paula Kaufmann, CIH
Both OSHA and the EPA seemed to have recently awoken from their regulatory slumber. OSHA has announced its first major rulemaking during the Obama administration with a proposed change to the agencys Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard. The existing OSHA HazCom Standard provides workers with the right to know the hazards and identities of the chemicals they are exposed to while working, as well as the measures they can take to protect themselves. This standard was originally adopted in November 1983 and has been enhanced a few times with the latest revision in February 1994.
The proposed changes set the stage for the United States to catch up with the global community in the use of globally consistent methods for chemical hazard classification, hazard labeling, and the format of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). The proposed changes will align the HazCom Standard with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling (GHS). The GHS was adopted by the UN in 2003 with a goal of implementation in 2008. Most multinational companies have been following both the global system and the current OSHA Hazard Communication Program in recent years. The US Department of Transportation has already modified the DOT requirements to make them consistent with international UN transportation requirements and the GHS. Now it is time for OSHA.
The proposed changes will significantly improve the quality and consistency of information provided to workers, employers and chemical user by having a standardized approach to identifying the hazard, labeling the hazard on containers and equipment, and documentation of the hazard on a MSDS. The most pronounced change that chemical purchasers and workers will see is a consistent hazard warning statements and warnings (including pictograms) along with MSDSs will always have the same information located in the same place. These changes are critical not only for everyday users of the chemicals but also emergency responders and medical personnel.
However, the changes wont be required next week and probably not even next year. The process for moving through a major revision to an established regulation can be long and loud (with input from all vantages points on the changes). OSHA took the first step of this process in September 2006 with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). The recent step, in September 2009, is detailing the changes to HazCom with the publishing of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Next is the comment period (90 days December 29, 2009) and then public hearings scheduled for early 2010. OSHA will then draft a Proposed Standard which will have to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget and will consult with the Small Business Administration. The Proposal Standard will then get published in the Federal Register, and will most likely have a comment period. FINALLY, OSHA will incorporate changes from comments into the Final Standard, which will be published in the Federal Register with the provisions taking effect over the following months or years.
Its a long process. Regulators dont have the window of time to slumber.
Both OSHA and the EPA seemed to have recently awoken from their regulatory slumber. OSHA has announced its first major rulemaking during the Obama administration with a proposed change to the agencys Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard. The existing OSHA HazCom Standard provides workers with the right to know the hazards and identities of the chemicals they are exposed to while working, as well as the measures they can take to protect themselves. This standard was originally adopted in November 1983 and has been enhanced a few times with the latest revision in February 1994.
The proposed changes set the stage for the United States to catch up with the global community in the use of globally consistent methods for chemical hazard classification, hazard labeling, and the format of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). The proposed changes will align the HazCom Standard with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling (GHS). The GHS was adopted by the UN in 2003 with a goal of implementation in 2008. Most multinational companies have been following both the global system and the current OSHA Hazard Communication Program in recent years. The US Department of Transportation has already modified the DOT requirements to make them consistent with international UN transportation requirements and the GHS. Now it is time for OSHA.
The proposed changes will significantly improve the quality and consistency of information provided to workers, employers and chemical user by having a standardized approach to identifying the hazard, labeling the hazard on containers and equipment, and documentation of the hazard on a MSDS. The most pronounced change that chemical purchasers and workers will see is a consistent hazard warning statements and warnings (including pictograms) along with MSDSs will always have the same information located in the same place. These changes are critical not only for everyday users of the chemicals but also emergency responders and medical personnel.
However, the changes wont be required next week and probably not even next year. The process for moving through a major revision to an established regulation can be long and loud (with input from all vantages points on the changes). OSHA took the first step of this process in September 2006 with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). The recent step, in September 2009, is detailing the changes to HazCom with the publishing of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Next is the comment period (90 days December 29, 2009) and then public hearings scheduled for early 2010. OSHA will then draft a Proposed Standard which will have to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget and will consult with the Small Business Administration. The Proposal Standard will then get published in the Federal Register, and will most likely have a comment period. FINALLY, OSHA will incorporate changes from comments into the Final Standard, which will be published in the Federal Register with the provisions taking effect over the following months or years.
Its a long process. Regulators dont have the window of time to slumber.