Workplace Safety and Health News Alert
OSHA Announces Final Rule Updating Hazard Communication Standard
May 22, 2024
On May 20, 2024, the Department of Labor announced a final rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which essentially updates the Hazard Communication (“HazCom”) Standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200) with new requirements regarding labels and safety data sheets (“SDSs”). The updated standard will also primarily align with Revision 7 of the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (“GHS”). The rule takes effect on July 19, 2024, but allows additional time for compliance, as discussed below.
Among other items, the changes to the HazCom Standard include:
- Revised criteria for classification of certain health and physical hazards;
- Revised provisions for updating labels;
- New labeling requirements for certain very small containers and bulk containers;
- New provisions related to trade secrets;
- Amendments related to the contents of SDSs;
- New definitions for bulk shipment, combustible dust, gas, immediate outer package, liquid, physician or other license health care professional (PLHCP), released for shipment, and solid; and
- Revised definitions for exposure or exposed, hazardous chemical, and physical hazard.
In a press release announcing the new standard, the Department of Labor stated that “the updated standard will require labels on small packaging to be more comprehensive and readable and makes changes to help ensure trade secrets no longer prevent workers and first responders from receiving critical hazard information on safety data sheets.” Further, the Department said that workers would stand to benefit from additional changes, “including a clearer hazard classification process to provide more complete and accurate hazard information on labels and safety data sheets; updated physical hazard classes to better inform users on safe handling of explosives, aerosols and chemicals under pressure; and updated precautionary statements on how to safely handle, store and dispose of hazardous chemicals.”
The rule is set to take effect on July 19, 2024. Importantly, July 19 is not a compliance date. Instead, the rule has rolled out staggered compliance dates. For chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors evaluating substances, the date of compliance is January 19, 2026. Then, employers will have an additional six (6) months until July 20, 2026, to update any alternative workplace labeling, update their HazCom program, and provide any additional employee training for newly identified physical, health, or other hazards. For chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors evaluating mixtures, the date of compliance is July 19, 2027. Similarly, those employers will have an additional six (6) months until January 19, 2028, to update any alternative workplace labeling, update their HazCom program, and provide any additional employee training for newly identified physical, health, or other hazards.
In the preamble to the final rule, OSHA reiterated that the HazCom Standard “requires chemical manufacturers or importers to classify the hazards of chemicals they produce or import” and “requires all employers to provide information to their employees about the hazardous chemicals to which they are exposed, by means of a hazard communication program, labels and other forms of warning, safety data sheets [], and information and training.” OSHA stressed that the updates to the HazCom Standard do not change the “fundamental structure” of the standard.
If you have questions regarding OSHA’s updated HazCom Standard or any other questions concerning workplace safety, do not hesitate to reach out to a member of Jackson Kelly’s Workplace Safety and Health Team.