GHS and SDS

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) – 29CFR1910.120 – requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, or importers to provide Safety Data Sheets (SDS’s) (formerly known as Material Safety Data Sheets or MSDS’s) to communicate the hazards of hazardous chemical products. Safety Data Sheets can be easily downloaded via the Internet. Search for them under the name of the product or the product type. Although all SDS’s are now required to be standardized and showing information under 16 different sections, there are ten things you should immediately look for to familiarize yourself with the chemicals in the product you are using, no matter where you are using them. This video highlights the ten things you should know right away before using any chemical product in the workplace, but it goes double for home safety. Even simple household products can contain potentially hazardous chemicals. Use the Safety Data Sheets to find information necessary to protect yourself, your co-workers and your family. Always follow all label warnings, cautions and instructions.

The ultimate goal in the hazard classification process is to know and document the hazards of all covered chemicals you manufacture or import. In order to achieve this, you must first determine which chemicals require a hazard classification. The logical way to do this is to first prepare an inventory of all the chemicals you manufacture or import, as well as a list of the ingredients in the mixtures produced. To create the list of ingredients from the mixtures produced, consider
information found in the chemical formula, on order receipts, batch sheets, and so on. While a single SDS must be created for the mixtures produced, you may rely upon the information provided on the SDSs and labels for ingredients obtained from the chemical manufacturer or importer, unless you have reason to believe the information is incorrect. However, you may choose to conduct a hazard classification for those ingredients if there is concern about the adequacy of the hazard information received. All employers are required to have a list of hazardous chemicals known to be present in the workplace under 29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(1)(i).  Next, take time to inspect the workplace to identify any additional chemicals present. It would be ideal to note the location and quantity of each chemical found. Chemical inventories are often maintained as computer files for ease and efficiency in keeping them current. With knowledge of the chemicals in your possession, you can use this information to perform hazard
classifications for chemicals that you manufacture or import.

• In March 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised its Hazard Communication Standard to align it with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), Revision 3. The revision to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) built on the existing standard, by requiring chemical manufacturers and importers to follow specific criteria when evaluating the hazardous chemicals
  and when communicating the hazards through labels and safety data sheets (SDSs). This document is designed to help manufacturers and importers of chemicals not only identify
  chemical hazards, but also to classify these hazards so that workers and downstream users can be informed about and better understand these hazards as required by OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. This guidance may also be useful to employers who decide to conduct hazard classifications to assure the accuracy and completeness of information provided
  to them by suppliers. Understanding the hazards is the critically important first stage in the process of establishing an effective hazard communication program. The process of hazard classification consists of four basic steps. 

 Selection of chemicals to evaluate;
 Collection of data;
 Analysis of the collected data; and
 Records of the rationale behind the results obtained.