OSHA Issues Enforcement Guidance for Hazard Communication Standard | Practical Law

OSHA Issues Enforcement Guidance for Hazard Communication Standard | Practical Law

The US Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an internal memorandum detailing enforcement guidance for the 2012 Hazard Communication Standard's requirement that chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors develop safety data sheets (SDSs) and labels for chemical mixtures that are in alignment with the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The memorandum follows a petition by several trade groups to delay the June 1, 2015 effective date due to their failure to receive classification and SDS information from upstream raw material suppliers.

OSHA Issues Enforcement Guidance for Hazard Communication Standard

Practical Law Legal Update 2-603-8005 (Approx. 4 pages)

OSHA Issues Enforcement Guidance for Hazard Communication Standard

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 10 Mar 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an internal memorandum detailing enforcement guidance for the 2012 Hazard Communication Standard's requirement that chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors develop safety data sheets (SDSs) and labels for chemical mixtures that are in alignment with the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The memorandum follows a petition by several trade groups to delay the June 1, 2015 effective date due to their failure to receive classification and SDS information from upstream raw material suppliers.
On February 9, 2015, the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) issued an internal memorandum detailing enforcement guidance for the 2012 Hazard Communication Standard's (HCS) requirement that chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors develop safety data sheets (SDSs) and labels for chemical mixtures that are in alignment with the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The requirements are effective June 1, 2015, but several trade groups have expressed concerns about complying by that date, due to their failure to receive classification and SDS information from upstream raw material suppliers.
OSHA denied the groups' petition to delay the compliance date. However, the memorandum noted that OSHA will not issue citations against manufacturers or importers that fail to comply, if compliance officers determine that:
  • In an effort to classify and label their mixtures in compliance with the HCS requirements, the manufacturer, importer or distributor exercises good faith and diligence.
  • The material safety data sheets and labels are in compliance with HCS's 1994 requirements.
To determine whether reasonable diligence and good faith were used, OSHA instructs compliance officers to consider whether the manufacturer, importer or distributor:
  • Documented the process used to gather the classification information from its upstream suppliers (and the status of those efforts).
  • Documented efforts to use alternative sources to find hazard information.
  • Provided written accounts of dialogue with:
    • upstream suppliers (including dated copies of written communication); and
    • distributors (including dated copies of written communication by distributors stating why it could not comply with the 2012 HCS requirements).
  • Developed a course of action to make the necessary SDS and label changes in compliance with the requirements (and provided a timeline for compliance).
  • Attempted to get the hazard information in a timeframe that would allow them to meet the June 1, 2015 deadline.
If a distributor cannot ship SDSs that comply with the 2012 requirements by December 1, 2015 due to a manufacturer or importer's failure to comply with the June 1, 2015 effective date, OSHA instructs compliance officers to consider whether the distributors:
  • Exercised reasonable diligence.
  • Acted in good faith.
  • Documented communications with manufacturers or importers regarding their failure to comply with the requirements.
Upstream raw material suppliers that do not comply with the new SDSs and labeling requirements or do not provide the information to manufacturers will be issued a non-compliance citation.
Although OSHA denied the petition to delay the compliance date, the February 9, 2015 memorandum:
  • Extended the timeframe for when a manufacturer or importer must create SDSs that comply with the 2012 requirements from three months to six months from the date it receives the hazard information for the mixture's ingredients.
  • Extended the timeframe for when a manufacturer or importer must create labels in compliance with the 2012 HCS from six months after learning of the hazard information to six months from when the manufacturer or importer developed SDSs that complied with the 2012 requirements.