Category: Chemicals

Today’s workplace uses thousands of chemicals, many of which are hazardous. The resources in this section will help guide you in the safe and legal identification, storage, transport, and use of these chemicals, and in making sure that your employees right to know how to be safe around such substances is provided, as required by law.

Safety data sheet (SDS)

Hybrid SDSs: OSHA Explains

In 2012, OSHA completed a comprehensive revision of its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with the general objective of achieving alignment with the United Nations’ (U.N.) 2009 Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The revision provided much needed improvements in how information about hazardous chemicals in the workplace is communicated to employees, […]

Mercury

Is MATS on EPA’s Chopping Block?

In a letter, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) asked the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a division of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to resist any action by the EPA to withdraw or otherwise diminish its 2012 Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

Vaping, e-cigarettes

Vape Shop Investigation Reports Employee Chemical Exposures

The use of e-cigarettes, commonly called vaping, has been promoted by manufacturers and retailers as a safe alternative to smoking tobacco smoke. The chemical evidence backs up this claim, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but there’s more to the picture.

Molecule

Assess Your PFAS Risk Sooner Rather than Later

Are you holding off on assessing the risk of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at your facility? Don’t wait until a regulator (or worse, legal action) forces your hand! A “wait and see” approach could result in a potential damage to your brand and investor relations.

The Latest from EPA on TSCA Prioritization

The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) state that by December 22, 2019, the EPA must have at least 20 high-priority chemical substances undergoing risk evaluation. Additionally, by this date, at least 20 chemical substances must have been designated as low-priority substances, or substances for which a risk evaluation is not warranted […]

TSCA Fee Schedule Set in Final Rule

The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) require that the EPA charge fees to persons who either submit information the Agency must review or manufacture chemicals for which the Agency must conduct risk evaluations. The EPA has now published a final rule that establishes fees for certain activities under TSCA Sections 4, […]

Retail Facilities

Bill Would Affect Retail Facilities Definition for PSM Standard

A provision in the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (Farm Bill), which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2018, would provide a definition that clarifies that retail facilities that receive more than half of their income from direct sales to end users or consumers, including farmers and ranchers, are exempt from […]

Ammonia Fertilizer

OSHA Outreach Program Addresses Ammonia Fertilizers

Beginning October 1, 2018, OSHA launched a regional emphasis program (REP) focused on reducing employee exposure to fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) and agricultural anhydrous ammonium. The REP will be effective in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.