Question of the Week
Material Safety Data Sheets
Q. We are a chemical manufacturer and ship chemicals that are not regulated as a hazardous material by the DOT. However, our forwarder is telling us that although the goods are not considered hazardous, MSDS sheets are supposed to be included with the shipment. Is this true? Please clarify so we can get this shipment moving.
A. Although your shipment is not considered a “hazardous material” under DOT regulations, it may still be a “hazardous chemical” according to OSHA regulations. First find out if it meets the definition of “hazardous chemical” found at 29 CFR 1910.1200(c). If your product does meet the definition of a “hazardous chemical,” as a manufacturer you must provide an MSDS for that chemical with the initial shipment to an employer or with the first shipment after an MSDS is updated [29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(6)(i)]. Remember that your MSDSs must be updated within 3 months of becoming aware of new information [1910.1200(g)(5)]. These MSDSs can be provided to employers either with the shipment or prior to the shipment [1910.1200(g)(6)(ii)].
So if the person you are sending a shipment to has already received an MSDS because of earlier shipments and your MSDSs have not changed, then you are not required to send another MSDS. However, it may not be bad business practice to do so.
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OSHA News, Rules, and Interpretations
06/25/2008—U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA Recognizes Monsanto's Central Plains Crop Technology Center for Safety and Health Excellence
Monsanto Co.'s Central Plains Crop Technology Center in Wichita, Kan., has earned membership at the “star,” or highest, level in the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). “Monsanto's Central Plains Crop Technology Center has demonstrated excellence in its comprehensive safety and health management,” said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City. “Its outstanding efforts have included management commitment to safety and health, and employee involvement in safety and health programs.”
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06/25/2008—OSHA Issues Guidance for Tree Trimming and Removal Operations
This OSHA guidance document clarifies the application of OSHA's General Industry Standards for logging operations (29 CFR 1910.266) to tree trimming and removal operations. When the techniques used in a tree removal operation have the same characteristics and hazards as traditional tree felling, the logging operations standards apply. When a tree removal has characteristics and hazards associated with tree felling and tree trimming, an employer may comply with 1910.266 or the Alternative Compliance Strategy described in the OSHA guidance document. Employers engaged solely in tree trimming need only comply with the general industry standards, and the general duty clause, not the standards for logging operations.
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06/19/2008—Underreporting of On-the-Job Injuries and Illnesses Distorts Nation's Workplace Safety Report Card, Witnesses Tell House Labor Committee
The Department of Labor's longstanding failure to collect accurate data on workplace injuries and illnesses calls into question the agency's claims that workplaces are getting safer and healthier, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee.
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06/11/2008—Monro Muffler Brake Inc. Faces $107,000 in Fines for Exit Access, Fall, Compressed Gas Storage and Other Hazards at Glastonbury, Conn., Store
Locked fire exits, exposure to 8-foot falls, improper storage of compressed gas cylinders and other hazards at the Monro Muffler Brake Inc. store in Glastonbury, Conn., have resulted in the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citing the company with $107,000 in proposed fines.
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06/10/2008—OSHA Cites Laurel, Mississippi, Manufacturer With 54 Safety Violations and $193,000 in Proposed Penalties
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $193,000 in penalties against Howard Industries for 54 violations of federal safety rules at the company's two manufacturing locations in Laurel, Miss. The producer of electrical power products is being cited with 36 serious violations and proposed penalties of $123,500 at its Pendorf Road plant, with an additional 15 serious violations and proposed penalties of $41,000 at its Eastview plant. The violations include failing to provide employees with proper protective equipment, and to provide machine guards and lockout-tagout procedures.
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06/10/2008—Fall and Cave-in Hazards at Concord, N.H., Worksite Lead to More Than $120,000 in Fines
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) upon inspection of a McDonald's restaurant construction site at 117 Loudon Road found employees of Shawnlee Construction, a Plainville, Mass., roofing contractor, exposed to fall hazards. Employees of James T. Lynch Contractors Inc., a Reading, Mass., excavation contractor, were found to be exposed to cave-in hazards. Shawnlee faces a total of $96,500 in proposed fines and Lynch a total of $23,700.
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CSB News
06/26/2008—CSB Issues Final Report on Barton Solvents Explosion, Calls on OSHA and Trade Associations to Improve Material Safety Data Sheets for Nonconductive Flammable Liquids
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a case study and safety video on the July 2007 explosion and fire at the Barton Solvents distribution facility in Valley Center, Kansas. The CSB found the most likely cause of the explosion—involving what is known as a nonconductive flammable liquid—was a static spark resulting from a loosely-linked level-measuring float within the tank. The spark ignited the air-vapor mixture inside the tank as it was being filled.
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