Hazard Communication
The Hazard Communication Standard
The Hazard Communication Standard is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation. The Hazard Communication Standard may also be referred to as the Right-to-Understand Law, RTK or HazCom. The citation number is 29 CFR 1910.1200. HazCom is a standard intended to protect employees from physical and health hazards that they work with or could be exposed to in the workplace. Additional information is available through the Hazard Communication Program (pdf).
Designated Trained Individuals
Purdue University has an active Hazard Communication program that uses a train the trainer approach to meet compliance requirements. The program covers all employees of the university including full-time, part-time, temporary and student employees that are NOT engaged in the laboratory use of chemicals.
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) conducts the training for work area trainers. These trainers are known as designated trained individuals or DTIs. DTIs serve as the work area coordinators for HazCom including initial implementation and continued maintenance of the program in their work areas. Individuals that are to be the DTIs must attend a training/orientation session. The DTI training is a 30-45 minute course that covers the requirements of the law, requirements of the university’s program, an abbreviated review of industrial hygiene concepts and a short example of how to establish the program in their work area. Hands on class exercises may also be used to demonstrate program requirements and concepts.
EHS conducts program audits annually to assess work area compliance through participation in the Integrated Safety Plan. For questions about the Hazard Communication Standard DTI Training, contact EHS Industrial Hygiene.
Hazard Communication Training
The purpose of Hazard Communication training is to describe the hazardous characteristics and effects of chemicals and identify sources for chemical hazard information. Training includes a review of how chemical container labels and safety data sheets (SDS) present and format chemical hazard information.
Complete Hazard Communication Training through the HSI Training Platform.
Chemical Hygiene Plan Participation and Training
The Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) (pdf) is required for the laboratory use of hazardous chemicals. “Laboratory use of hazardous chemicals” means handling or use of such chemicals in which all of the following conditions are met:
- Chemical manipulations are carried out on a laboratory scale
- Multiple chemical procedures or chemicals are used;
- The procedures involved are not part of a production process, nor in any way simulate a production process; and
- Protective laboratory practices and equipment are available and in common use to minimize the potential for employee exposure to hazardous chemicals.
At Purdue University a principal investigator (PI) may have the option, after EHS consultation, to comply with the Hazard Communication Standard instead of the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) when using hazardous chemicals in their laboratory. Be aware that Hazard Communication Program compliance has several additional mandates that CHP compliance does not.
Examples include a designated trained individual (DTI) responsible for maintaining all program training records, chemical inventories, 24/7 centralized accessible SDS for all chemicals and more stringent secondary container labeling (i.e., no chemical abbreviations or formulas). EHS will make the final determination.
Definitions:
- Hazardous chemicals: any chemical which is classified as health hazard or simple asphyxiant in accordance with the Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200).
- Laboratory scale: work with substances in which the containers used for reactions, transfers, and other handling of substances are designed to be easily and safety manipulated by one person. “Laboratory scale” excludes those workplaces whose function is to produce commercial quantities of materials.
- Production process: mechanical or chemical steps used to create an object, usually repeated to create multiple units of the same item.
- Protective laboratory practices and equipment: includes the use of PPE, eyewashes, safety showers, fume hoods, etc.