Safety professionals have a lot on their plate.
You must manage your chemical inventory and safety data sheet (SDS) library, among other things. Ironically, this busy schedule may keep you from staying fully informed about major regulatory developments, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 2024 final rule aligning the new Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom) Standard with Revision 7 (and select elements of Revision 8) of the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
Still, you must learn about—and comply with—the HazCom final rule. First and foremost, because it directly impacts your responsibilities to protect employees from workplace chemical exposures. Second, the final rule creates regulatory obligations for all hazardous chemical users throughout the supply chain.
OSHA estimates that the final rule’s changes will impact 94% of SDSs and 64% of shipped container labels. The countdown to compliance deadlines has already begun, so you need to start preparing.
But don’t worry. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Here are answers to some of your likely questions about the latest HazCom changes.
What are the main takeaways from OSHA’s HazCom final rule?
At a high level, the OSHA final rule revising the HazCom Standard contains the following changes.
Revised classification criteria
The final rule includes revised classification criteria for certain chemical products—namely aerosols, desensitized explosives and flammable gases—to better capture and communicate their hazards to downstream users. OSHA has also adopted a new hazard category, Chemicals Under Pressure, within the aerosols class, following classification criteria in GHS Revision 8. These revised classifications affect some of the associated hazard information, including hazard pictograms and precautionary statements.
Updated label provisions
The final rule includes updated label provisions, specficially those addressing small containers. The final rule incorporates OSHA’s previous guidance on labeling small containers into the Standard itself, defining a small container as 100 milileters (ml) or less in volume.
It allows chemical manufacturers to use an abbreviated version of shipped container label information for small containers. Additionally, the rule also allows chemical manufacturers, distributors or importers to provide only a product identifier on very small containers (3 ml or less) if labelling interferes with normal container use. However, full shipped container label information must still appear on the outer packaging.
Also, manufacturers, distributors or importers that become aware of new significant hazard information do not need to relabel chemical products already released for shipment. Interestingly, OSHA does not require a “released for shipment” date on the label, as the 2021 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) had proposed, citing stakeholder concerns about unfeasibility.
Classification amendments
The final rule includes amendments related to criteria for information to consider when classifying a chemical and its effects on information to include in Section 2 of a SDS.
The NPRM proposed that manufacturers consider classification based on “normal conditions of use and foreseeable emergencies” and include that information in Section 2. Many chemical manufacturers argued that this requirement was too open-ended and that they were too far upstream of a chemical’s uses to be able to anticipate all reactions or chemical changes that could result from different use cases.
The final rule attempts to delineate responsibilities further, stating, “hazard classification must include hazards associated with the chemical’s intrinsic properties, including: (i) a change in the chemical’s physical form and; (ii) chemical reaction products associated with known or reasonably anticipated uses or applications.” The final rule clarifies that hazards from a chemical reaction (the actual GHS-based classifications) belong in Section 2(c) of the SDS, while hazards from changes in intrinsic and physical form belong in 2(a).
Additional information requirements
The final rule includes additional updates to SDS information requirements, specifically the addition of “particle characteristics” for solid products in Section 9. The rule notes that this requirement only applies when such particle information (e.g., median and range of particle size) is readily available and does not require chemical manufacturers to conduct testing to determine particle characteristics.
Concentration ranges
The final rule includes new provisions relating to how chemical manufacturers can use concentration ranges when they claim them as trade secrets.
What is the compliance timeline for OSHA’s HazCom updates?
OSHA has extended the compliance timeline for the final rule compared to what was proposed in the NPRM. The original proposal set a one-year compliance deadline for manufacturers of substances and a two-year deadline for manufacturers of mixtures.
Based on stakeholder feedback, OSHA has lengthened the timeline to 18 months for manufacturers of substances and 36 months for manufacturers of mixtures, measured from the final rule’s effective date of July 19, 2024.
Employers using chemical products affected by the final rule must make any necessary changes to workplace hazard communication practices (e.g., workplace labels, the written HazCom plan and worker training) within six months after the manufacturer deadlines for substances and mixtures. The figure below shows obligations and associated compliance deadlines for chemical users across the supply chain.
How should you prepare for updated HazCom requirements?
The HazCom final rule will not have the same level of impact as the 2012 final rule, which first aligned HazCom with Revision 3 of the GHS. The current changes are more limited in scope, affecting certain chemical hazard classes and specific details related to chemical classification and information on SDSs.
Even so, many manufacturers will need to reclassify some of their products and meet updated information requirements. This will result in many newly reauthored SDSs and shipped container labels. End users of chemicals must be aware of whether their products are affected by the changes and be prepared to track and use updated SDSs. This includes incorporating any updated hazard classifications into their workplace labeling system, HazCom training and written HazCom plan.
Preparation starts with having straightforward methods for maintaining an up-to-date SDS library that is accessible from anywhere. This will help you better track the receipt of updated SDSs from your suppliers and incorporate the new information into your workplace HazCom management practices.
Make sure you have the tools necessary to easily manage your SDS library and access hazardous chemical information anywhere, anytime. Modern chemical management software can be a valuable tool, providing EHS professionals with the support to meet HazCom compliance deadlines and keep workers safe.