Today the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released instructions for compliance safety and health officers in regards to the proper enforcement of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) during the transition period and after the new standards are fully implemented on June 1, 2016.
The HCS was initially revised in March of 2012. The revisions focused on hazard classification of chemicals, standardizing label elements for containers that hold hazardous chemicals, and the format and required content for safety data sheets.
The revisions also stated that employers are required to train workers on the new labeling and SDS requirements by December 1, 2013. Chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors were given until June 1, 2015 to be fully compliant with the new SDS requirements. Manufacturers and importers were given until June 1, 2015 to be fully compliant with the new labeling requirements. Distributors will have until December 1, 2015 to fully comply with the new labeling standards provided they are not re-labeling any materials or creating safety data sheet.
DIRECTIVE NUMBER: CPL 02-02-079
