Both communities and workers need to understand the chemical hazards they might encounter. Hazard communication, or “worker right-to-know,” is the workplace counterpart to community right-to-know. While community right-to-know is focused on emergency response preparedness, hazard communication focuses on worker information and training on everyday exposures, as well as emergencies.

Do you have a fully compliant hazard communication program? You might be surprised by how many employers don’t.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) hazard communication standard is the most cited general industry standard, second only to the agency’s fall protection standard for the construction industry. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, OSHA cited 3,213 violations of the hazard communication standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1910.1200).

OSHA continues to cite employers this year for hazard communication violations. For example:

• The agency cited an Atlanta chemical manufacturer in March with 67 serious violations that included failing to develop and implement a comprehensive hazard communication program for the handling and use of hazardous chemicals. The agency sought penalties totaling $289,439.
• In April, the agency investigated the Austin, Texas, subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest producers of manufactured and modular homes for its high worker injury rate. Investigators found that the employer failed to maintain hazard communication and respiratory protection programs. Penalties for the cited violations totaled $272,479.
• This spring, OSHA followed up on an inspection of an Attalla, Alabama, sausage manufacturer the agency had cited in 2022. After its follow-up investigation, OSHA cited the employer with repeat violations of the hazard communication, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and exit route standards, seeking $116,153 in new penalties.

A variety of chemical safety regulations

The hazard communication standard is part of a web of “cradle-to-grave” industry consensus standards, international agreements, and regulations out of OSHA, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Chemical manufacturing facilities and refineries must comply with OSHA’s standard for process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals and the agency’s hazard communication standard.

The nonregulatory U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) investigates accidents, explosions, and fires at chemical plants and refineries. The board doesn’t cite employers or issue monetary penalties but makes recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor unions, and regulatory agencies, including the EPA and OSHA.

The DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulates the transportation of hazardous materials.

The EPA regulates hazardous waste disposal under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); however, OSHA regulates workers' health and safety under its Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) also maintains an industry consensus standard (NFPA 704) for labeling containers, tanks, and facilities (using its “fire diamond”) to alert firefighters and other emergency responders to fire, health, and other hazards.

U.S. regulators attempt to align their rules with the United Nations’ UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

In May, OSHA updated the hazard communication standard to incorporate updates (Revision 7) to the GHS. The rulemaking also addressed issues arising from the agency’s last update in 2012.

OSHA clarified agency enforcement policy on label requirements for small containers, making requested accommodations for small containers. The agency also acknowledged that manufacturers, importers, and distributors can’t be aware of every single use of or application for their products.

The 2024 update also addressed the required content and form of safety data sheets (SDSs), aligning the U.S. standard’s requirements with those in both the GHS and Canadian regulations. The update incorporated new hazard classes and categories, as well as improved and streamlined requirements for precautionary statements.

Inspection, enforcement

Following the agency’s March 26, 2012, revisions to the hazard communication standard to harmonize it with the GHS, OSHA updated its inspection procedures.

The standard requires a written program covering all employees who may be exposed to hazardous substances.

OSHA investigators may cite you for the lack of a written program and missing or deficient elements of a hazard communication program—for example, a lack of labels or incomplete labels on chemical containers; missing, inaccurate, or outdated SDSs; and a lack of training programs for employees and temporary workers.

Following an inspection of your facility, a compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) may settle on a range of conclusions:

• That you or other employers on-site have done nothing to comply with the standard;
• That your program meets the labeling, SDS, and training program elements required by the standard but that your facility lacks a compliant written program;
• That the programs you or other employers on-site have are inadequate or incomplete.

If your facility or worksite is a multiemployer site, all employers are responsible for hazard communication compliance. If you have temporary workers at your facility or site, both you, as the host employer, and the employment agency that provided the temporary workers are responsible for hazard communication compliance. OSHA can and does cite multiple employers at a facility or site.

During a workplace walk-around, agency CSHOs will review the written program, confirming that the program includes:

• A complete inventory of all hazardous substances on-site.
• Methods and practices for informing employees of chemical hazards they may encounter during nonroutine tasks, as well as the hazards presented by substances in unlabeled pipes.
• Methods for informing other employers’ employees at a multiemployer worksite of all chemical hazards. All employees on-site must have access to and know how to access both the written program and SDSs.

Your hazard communication compliance

Your compliance with OSHA’s hazard communication begins with a written program meeting all the standard’s requirements. A written hazard communication program covers all aspects of your program, such as chemical labels and SDSs and employee information and training.

Your employees must be trained to understand the hazard and precautionary information contained in labels and SDSs and have access to SDSs for chemicals in the workplace.

Besides knowing how to read and understand chemical labels and SDSs, your employees must understand the hazards of the chemicals found in the workplace, such as asphyxiation or health hazards, combustible dust, and physical hazards like explosiveness and flammability or reactivity, as well as hazards “not otherwise classified.” They also must be trained in detecting the presence or release of a hazardous chemical in their work areas.

Your chemical label compliance

OSHA inspectors may not cite you for inaccurate, inadequate, or missing labels and SDSs provided by manufacturers, importers, and distributors, but inspectors will cite you for removing or defacing shippers’ labels.

OSHA personnel will also cite you if the labels produced in-house are missing information, such as a product identifier or hazard description.

Agency CSHOs will determine whether containers of hazardous substances are labeled properly and that the labels are legible and prominently displayed. Labels must be in English but may include information in other languages.

Labels must be attached to the immediate container, although fold-back or pullout labels or tags may be used for small or oddly shaped containers.

Stationary process containers, like dip tanks and mixing vessels, also must be labeled properly. You’ll be cited if stationary containers aren’t labeled or have labels that are missing any required information.

Inspectors also will check the chemical label’s product identifier against the SDS in your data sheet collection.

Your SDS compliance

As part of your hazard communication program, you must designate an individual responsible for obtaining SDSs and maintaining your data sheet collection. If a shipment of chemicals doesn’t include SDSs or if the SDSs provided are inaccurate or incomplete, you must make a good-faith effort to obtain replacement SDSs.

You must document your efforts to obtain SDSs with e-mails, letters, or phone call records. Your area OSHA office may also be able to help you obtain replacement chemical data sheets if SDSs are missing, inaccurate, or incomplete.

Agency inspectors will confirm that you have a corresponding SDS for each hazardous substance in the workplace. They’ll compare a representative sample of SDSs against the chemical inventory in your written hazard communication program and will check that SDSs are current.

Agency CSHOs will ask how data sheets are maintained, whether in binders in your facility’s work areas, in a pickup truck at a jobsite, or via telefax, and about procedures for retrieving SDSs electronically. If SDSs are retrieved electronically, inspectors will check for backup systems for use in the event of electronic equipment failure and how employees may obtain SDSs’ substances on-site.

Your training compliance

During an inspection, agency personnel will interview managers and employees to evaluate your compliance with the hazard communication standard’s training requirements. When conducting employee interviews, CSHOs will determine whether employees understand the hazards of chemicals in the workplace.

Employees need to be aware of the hazards they’re exposed to and understand how to read container labels; how to find, read, and understand SDSs; and what precautions to take when exposed to hazardous substances.

OSHA inspectors will also review documentation of training programs in your written program. You must designate a person responsible for training and identifying that person to OSHA personnel. Inspectors will ask how training is conducted, what procedures you have for training new employees and retraining existing employees when new chemical hazards are introduced into the workplace, and how training is provided for other employers’ employees at a multiemployer worksite.

If you use an in-house labeling system, agency inspectors will also check that all employees have received training on the system.

Compliance in a nutshell

Your hazard communication program must be complete, but understanding the standard’s requirements doesn’t need to be complicated.

Just remember that:

• You need a written hazard communication program covering all chemical hazards at your facility or worksites.
• Your program must cover your employees and temporary workers employed by someone else at your facility or worksite.
• All chemical containers must be labeled with either an original manufacturer’s or shipper’s label or one you produce in-house.
• You need an SDS for every chemical on-site, and every employee and temporary worker must be able to access those SDSs.
• All employees and temporary workers on-site must be trained on reading and using chemical labels, accessing and reading SDSs, and what precautions to take for chemicals in the workplace.