October 28, 1996
brian l. bursiek, director of afia feed production american feed industry association 1501 wilson boulevard suite 1100 arlington, virginia 22209
You are reading: Msds books osha requirements
dear mr. bursiek:
This is in response to your June 27 letter regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requirements for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDs). . For your information, the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) Hazcom Task Force released its findings in Report to OSHA on Hazard Communication, September 12 (attached). your letter sought a compliance interpretation in two areas: the first issue questioned whether a plant manager should retain msdss simply because it was sent to them, or whether professional judgment can be used to remove unnecessary msdss from the file. The second issue asked for an interpretation on the use of fax transmissions to further reduce the number of msds files maintained by a company with multiple plant locations.
msdss that represent non-hazardous chemicals are not covered by the hcs. paragraph 29 cfr 1910.1200(g)(8) of the standard requires that “the employer shall maintain copies of the required msdss for each hazardous chemical in the workplace, and shall ensure that they are readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s). OSHA does not require or encourage employers to maintain MSDSs for non-hazardous chemicals. accordingly, an employer is free to dispose of msdss for non-hazardous chemicals.
in terms of an effective solution, i agree with dr. Finkle’s recommendation that its members inform their suppliers that they do not wish to receive MSDSs for non-hazardous chemicals. Obviously, once your vendors send msdss, your members have the burden of reviewing and discarding unnecessary msdss.
In response to your second question, osha has stated in a parenthetical note to hcs 1910.1200(g)(8) that: “(electronic access, microfiche, and other alternatives for maintaining paper copies of data from material security sheets are permitted as long as such options do not create barriers to immediate employee access at each work site) a company with multiple plant locations could use a facsimile to transmit msdss to employees as a means of complying with the standard. osha has always allowed the use of microfiche, computers, or facsimile for the transmission of msds. as you may know, the hcs has often been characterized as a performance-oriented standard. if an employer chooses an electronic system, employees must receive training on how they will access the information and the employer must integrate the system into their overall hazard communication program whether the employer selects a system Whether it involves an automated centralized database or simply having hard copies of msdss distributed in each work area, the key to hcs compliance is that there are no barriers to immediate employee access at each work location created by these options.
In your letter, you asked how soon does the fax transmission have to occur for compliance?
osha has not established minimum requirements to determine whether msdss maintained in the workplace are readily accessible to employees while they are in their work areas. osha has provided the following guidance to its compliance officers in compliance directive cpl 2-2.38c dated october 1990: “factors that may be appropriate to consider in determining whether msdss are readily accessible may include: should employees ask to a supervisor or other management representative for msds Are alternative sheets or methods kept in a place and condition where employees can refer to them during each work shift, when they are in their work areas? If a computer or fax system is used, do the employees know how to operate and obtain information from the system? Employees must have access to the msdss and be able to obtain the information when they need it, for an employer to be in compliance with the rule.” employees must have access to the msdss and be able to get the information when they need it this can be achieved in many ways and requires the compliance officer to exercise in their professional judgment when evaluating the accessibility of the msdss on the site.
as a final note, the system that is selected must be reliable. This means employers must provide a backup computer system when the primary system is down for short periods of time for maintenance, repair, or power outage. either providing a backup system to your main computer and fax equipment or printing a hard copy msdss before shutting down the system would meet the intent of the standard.
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Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health. If you have additional concerns, please contact Tom Galassi of my staff at (202) 219-8036 ext. 46.
Sincerely, Ruth McCully, Director of the Health Compliance Assistance Office
attached June 27, 1996
mrs. ruth mccully, director of the office of the department of health assistance and compliance. of work safety and health at work administration 200 constitucion av. washington dc. 20210
dear mrs. mccully:
I attended the nacosh hazcom meeting on June 12, 1996, where you addressed compliance issues. I learned a thing or two about compliance from hazcom, as many did, and am writing today for additional insights and ways companies can alleviate the enormous burden of paperwork that has been brought to them by hazcom.
afia is the national trade association for manufacturers and distributors of animal feed, pet food, feed ingredients, animal health products, and feed manufacturing equipment. Afia has 730 members who produce more than 70% of the animal feed sold in the United States. while its members include large corporations, most are small family businesses.
afia has been actively involved with hazcom since its enactment over a decade ago. Afia recently testified in front of the nacosh task force recommending areas of change needed for regulatory relief. afia’s concerns, then and now, center around the fact that many vendors generate msdss for products that are not actually dangerous.
Before osha acts on any nacosh recommendation, afia seeks compliance interpretation in two areas. First, is a plant manager required to keep an msds simply because it was sent to them, or can professional judgment be used to remove unnecessary msds from the file? Second, Afia is seeking interpretation on the use of fax transmissions to further reduce the number of msds maintained by a multi-site company.
prioritize hazards
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first, see attached afia letter to joe dear dated august. 7, 1995. Afia explains how, in many cases, plant managers in the feed industry come to possess MSDSs for substances that Afia considers to be non-hazardous. In an effort to comply with Hazcom, many vendors generate MSDSs without making hazard determinations. The net result is volumes of unnecessary MSDSs that Hazcom dictates be indexed, archived, and made available to employees. afia contends that this massive overload actually reduces worker health and safety because workers don’t take msdss seriously.
also attached is a letter from mr. Adam Finkel, Director, Health Standards Programs. in the second paragraph of the second page, mr. finkel attempts to address afia’s concern that too many msdss are being generated for non-hazardous items and suggests a solution. He suggests companies instruct suppliers not to submit MSDSs for products that are not hazardous by OSHA definition, and to submit MSDSs based on degree of hazard.
examining nacosh’s draft report dated June 11, 1996, the third recommendation suggests a possible solution: check a statement on the front page of an msds if a product is subject to hazard communication standards . In the meantime, what other advice can you give to companies for classifying or distinguishing the non-hazardous from the hazardous and the various degrees of risk that a particular product may present? Will OSHA allow a plant manager to use her professional judgment in determining which msds to prioritize, which to provide training, and which to drop as not dangerous to employees? any interpretation or guidance you can provide to help alleviate the volumes of msdss required for indexing and archiving would be appreciated.
electronic transfer
A point that was discussed at length during his report to the working group concerned the meaning of “readily accessible”. as you know, the working group’s draft report includes a recommendation for the use of electronic access to msdss instead of paper copies kept in the workplace. While this point was being discussed, there seemed to be no clear consensus as to the timeframe required to make MSDSs available to an employee. You indicated that current OSHA compliance policy requires employee access during the current work shift.
afia believes there can be significant reductions in the paperwork burden associated with hazcom if there is no need to file paper copies in the workplace. One option, as discussed by the working group, is the use of an off-site msds management service through an online terminal. This could save money and time, but could add additional expenses in the form of subscriptions and employee training. an end user should not have to pay for this information, but it is an option.
The use of fax transmissions was also mentioned as a tried and true method of providing msdss on demand. afia requests interpretation on the use of facsimile transmissions. If a corporation with multiple manufacturing locations maintains a master set of MSDSs at its company headquarters, will OSHA allow facsimile transmissions of MSDSs to its branches to satisfy requests for information? how soon must that transmission occur for compliance?
afia applauds the nacosh task force for its efforts to recommend necessary changes to the osha hazard communication standard. however, it is not clear when these recommendations will be adopted. Afia member companies need relief from the administrative burdens of Hazcom, and your interpretive guidance on the two topics of actual hazard assessment and electronic transfer can go a long way toward reducing those burdens. these two areas reflect the change needed as recommended by the nacosh working group.
afia welcomes your interpretations and is willing to meet with you to discuss any of our concerns.
honestly, brian l. bursiek, afia feed production manager
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