The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced, on March 20, 2012, final rules that will modify the Hazard Communication Standard to conform with the United Nations' (UN) Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). These changes will impact virtually all employers and chemical manufacturers. The changes to the standard include revised criteria for classification of chemical hazards; revised labeling provisions that include requirements for use of standardized signal words, pictograms, hazard statements, and precautionary statements; a specified format for safety data sheets; and related revisions to definitions of terms used in the standard, requirements for employee training on labels and safety data sheets. OSHA has set up a special web page containing links to final rules and other relevant information, here.

Final rules will be formally published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2012. The rules become effective 60 days after publishing. Final completion dates allow the new requirements to be phased in. Employees must be trained on the new label elements and Safety Data Sheet format by no later than December 1, 2013. Most other elements must be in place by June 1, 2015. During the transition period employers may comply with the new or existing requirements, or both.

In a February 24, 2012 article published in the Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Michigan's Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program report on the hazards of using methylene chloride-based stripping products in bathtub refinishing.

Investigators have identified more than a dozen deaths in the last 12 years thought to be associated with the use of methylene chloride in bathtub refinishing. In November 2011, Michigan's FACE program issued a Hazard Alert encouraging employers to consider alternative methods of bathtub stripping. Methylene chloride is a volatile solvent chemical that is easily absorbed into the body through the lungs and skin. Short-term exposures to high levels can cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness and lack of coordination. Methylene chloride is metabolized in the body to carbon monoxide, which may lead to irregular heart rhythms, heart attacks and sudden death. If workers use methylene chloride-based products, OSHA's Methylene Chloride standard (29 CFR 1910.1052) requires employers to protect and train workers exposed to these hazards.

OSHA Safety Day Training Program

Waubonsee Community College's Workforce Development department, working in partnership with the North Aurora office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), presented Safety Day, an all-day workers’ safety seminar on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. Over 30 speakers presented information on occupational safety and health issues to almost 300 attendees from a wide range of businesses located in and around the Chicago metropolitan area. Robert Safe, CIH, of Safe Technology, was pleased to present sessions on identifying health hazards in the workplace and respiratory protection. For more information about educational services available to local businesses through the Workforce Development department, see Waubansee's website.