INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
- 1 OSHA revises hazard communications standard: MSDS becomes SDS
- 2 New rule governs designation of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act
- 3 Natural gasoline pipeline spills prompt DOJ to lodge consent decree against owner, operator
- 4 EPA issues updated Clean Air Act standards for petroleum refinery process heaters and flares
- 4 SIDEBAR
- 5 FWS guidelines designed to minimize impact of wind energy development projects on wildlife
- SIDEBAR
- 6 Two federal agencies issue draft rules on fracking BLM issues proposed regulations concerning hydraulic fracturing
- 7 Plastic producer enters $1M consent decree to settle alleged CAA violations
Excerpt from OSHA revises hazard communications standard: MSDS becomes SDS:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its Hazard Communications (HazCom) standard to align with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals in a final rule published on March 26, 2012 (Federal Register Volume 77, Number 58).
OSHA’s stated purpose for making such a change is to reduce worker confusion regarding workplace hazards through hazard training and understanding while classifying chemicals based on their health and physical hazards and establishing labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) to replace the current Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) for chemicals made in or imported to the United States. While the HazCom standard was implemented to provide U.S. workers the right to know to what hazards the chemicals in their workplaces may expose them, OSHA is now concerned that such information is not as clear to workers with limited literacy when compared with the UN’s GHS labeling.
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