RE: Hazardous Chemicals &
The Public's
Right to Know
Dear Website Customer:
Do you ever feel like you are drowning in
a sea of government rules and regulations? I do! Many times, I've
heard myself commenting that it was a lot easier to do business
20 years ago. Yes, it was easier, but it wasn't always safer for
everyone, so a lot of regulatory action has been taken to help
insure our safety and good health.
Among those actions was the U. S. Congress'
passage in October, 1986, of the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act(EPCRA). EPCRA allows each of us the right to
know what hazardous materials are present in our community. It
also gives us, as employers, certain responsibilities which have
been spelled out in OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom).
Our obligation as business owners and employers
has four major elements of compliance:
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS
- MSDSs provide details about chemical identification,
physical dangers, safety pecautions, and emergency response procedures.
We are required to keep a MSDS on every hazardous substance we
use. Suppliers are required to give an MSDS with every azardous
substance they sell.
LABELS
- All hazardous products must have
a label identifying them with appropriate hazard warnings. This
only pertains to businesses selling products with hazardous chemical
components.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING - In order to make employees aware of what they
are working with, they must be told how to spot hazards, the
physical and health hazards of a particular chemical, how to
protect themselves, what to do in an emergency, and the location
of the company's written HazCom program.
WRITTEN HAZARD COMMUNICATION PROGRAM
- The written program is a description of everything
the company is doing to comply with Hazcom. This program must
be made available to employees should they ask to see it.
Due to the nature of our business we have
in our office or can readily obtain additional information on
hazardous products, including Texas' listing of 360 Extremely
Hazardous Substances and a sample Hazard Communication Program.
Should you be interested in further information, please call me
at (214)631-1010. I'd like to hear from you!
Sincerely,
KAHN MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS
Ann R. Kahn
TACL A370C |
