OSHA Labeling
These pages provide direct access to OSHA regluations relating to workplace safety labeling. They are provided for your convenience, we also recommend a full review of current OSHA requirements direct from OSHA, or get help and information by calling 877-762-9280.
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OSHA Standards for Hazard Labeling 1910.1200(d) - 1910.1200(g)(2)(i)(A)
1910.1200(d)
"Hazard determination."
1910.1200(d)(1)
Chemical manufacturers and importers shall evaluate chemicals produced in their workplaces or imported by them to determine if they are hazardous. Employers are not required to evaluate chemicals unless they choose not to rely on the evaluation performed by the chemical manufacturer or importer for the chemical to satisfy this requirement.
1910.1200(d)(2)
Chemical manufacturers, importers or employers evaluating chemicals shall identify and consider the available scientific evidence concerning such hazards. For health hazards, evidence which is statistically significant and which is based on at least one positive study conducted in accordance with established scientific principles is considered to be sufficient to establish a hazardous effect if the results of the study meet the definitions of health hazards in this section. Appendix A shall be consulted for the scope of health hazards covered, and Appendix B shall be consulted for the criteria to be followed with respect to the completeness of the evaluation, and the data to be reported.
1910.1200(d)(3)
The chemical manufacturer, importer or employer evaluating chemicals shall treat the following sources as establishing that the chemicals listed in them are hazardous:
1910.1200(d)(3)(i)
29 CFR part 1910, subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); or,
..1910.1200(d)(3)(ii)
1910.1200(d)(3)(ii)
"Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents in the Work Environment," American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) (latest edition). The chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer is still responsible for evaluating the hazards associated with the chemicals in these source lists in accordance with the requirements of this standard.
1910.1200(d)(4)
Chemical manufacturers, importers and employers evaluating chemicals shall treat the following sources as establishing that a chemical is a carcinogen or potential carcinogen for hazard communication purposes:
1910.1200(d)(4)(i)
National Toxicology Program (NTP), "Annual Report on Carcinogens" (latest edition);
1910.1200(d)(4)(ii)
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) "Monographs" (latest editions); or
1910.1200(d)(4)(iii)
29 CFR part 1910, subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Note: The "Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances" published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health indicates whether a chemical has been found by NTP or IARC to be a potential carcinogen.
1910.1200(d)(5)
The chemical manufacturer, importer or employer shall determine the hazards of mixtures of chemicals as follows:
1910.1200(d)(5)(i)
If a mixture has been tested as a whole to determine its hazards, the results of such testing shall be used to determine whether the mixture is hazardous;
..1910.1200(d)(5)(ii)
1910.1200(d)(5)(ii)
If a mixture has not been tested as a whole to determine whether the mixture is a health hazard, the mixture shall be assumed to present the same health hazards as do the components which comprise one percent (by weight or volume) or greater of the mixture, except that the mixture shall be assumed to present a carcinogenic hazard if it contains a component in concentrations of 0.1 percent or greater which is considered to be a carcinogen under paragraph (d)(4) of this section;
1910.1200(d)(5)(iii)
If a mixture has not been tested as a whole to determine whether the mixture is a physical hazard, the chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer may use whatever scientifically valid data is available to evaluate the physical hazard potential of the mixture; and,
1910.1200(d)(5)(iv)
If the chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer has evidence to indicate that a component present in the mixture in concentrations of less than one percent (or in the case of carcinogens, less than 0.1 percent) could be released in concentrations which would exceed an established OSHA permissible exposure limit or ACGIH Threshold Limit Value, or could present a health risk to employees in those concentrations, the mixture shall be assumed to present the same hazard.
1910.1200(d)(6)
Chemical manufacturers, importers, or employers evaluating chemicals shall describe in writing the procedures they use to determine the hazards of the chemical they evaluate. The written procedures are to be made available, upon request, to employees, their designated representatives, the Assistant Secretary and the Director. The written description may be incorporated into the written hazard communication program required under paragraph (e) of this section.
..1910.1200(e)
1910.1200(e)
"Written hazard communication program."
1910.1200(e)(1)
Employers shall develop, implement, and maintain at each workplace, a written hazard communication program which at least describes how the criteria specified in paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) of this section for labels and other forms of warning, material safety data sheets, and employee information and training will be met, and which also includes the following:
1910.1200(e)(1)(i)
A list of the hazardous chemicals known to be present using an identity that is referenced on the appropriate material safety data sheet (the list may be compiled for the workplace as a whole or for individual work areas); and,
1910.1200(e)(1)(ii)
The methods the employer will use to inform employees of the hazards of non-routine tasks (for example, the cleaning of reactor vessels), and the hazards associated with chemicals contained in unlabeled pipes in their work areas.
1910.1200(e)(2)
"Multi-employer workplaces." Employers who produce, use, or store hazardous chemicals at a workplace in such a way that the employees of other employer(s) may be exposed (for example, employees of a construction contractor working on-site) shall additionally ensure that the hazard communication programs developed and implemented under this paragraph (e) include the following:
1910.1200(e)(2)(i)
The methods the employer will use to provide the other employer(s) on-site access to material safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical the other employer(s)' employees may be exposed to while working;
..1910.1200(e)(2)(ii)
1910.1200(e)(2)(ii)
The methods the employer will use to inform the other employer(s) of any precautionary measures that need to be taken to protect employees during the workplace's normal operating conditions and in foreseeable emergencies; and,
1910.1200(e)(2)(iii)
The methods the employer will use to inform the other employer(s) of the labeling system used in the workplace.
1910.1200(e)(3)
The employer may rely on an existing hazard communication program to comply with these requirements, provided that it meets the criteria established in this paragraph (e).
1910.1200(e)(4)
The employer shall make the written hazard communication program available, upon request, to employees, their designated representatives, the Assistant Secretary and the Director, in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.1020 (e).
1910.1200(e)(5)
Where employees must travel between workplaces during a workshift, i.e., their work is carried out at more than one geographical location, the written hazard communication program may be kept at the primary workplace facility.
1910.1200(f)
"Labels and other forms of warning."
1910.1200(f)(1)
The chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked with the following information:
..1910.1200(f)(1)(i)
1910.1200(f)(1)(i)
Identity of the hazardous chemical(s);
1910.1200(f)(1)(ii)
Appropriate hazard warnings; and
1910.1200(f)(1)(iii)
Name and address of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
1910.1200(f)(2)
1910.1200(f)(2)(i)
For solid metal (such as a steel beam or a metal casting), solid wood, or plastic items that are not exempted as articles due to their downstream use, or shipments of whole grain, the required label may be transmitted to the customer at the time of the initial shipment, and need not be included with subsequent shipments to the same employer unless the information on the label changes;
1910.1200(f)(2)(ii)
The label may be transmitted with the initial shipment itself, or with the material safety data sheet that is to be provided prior to or at the time of the first shipment; and,
1910.1200(f)(2)(iii)
This exception to requiring labels on every container of hazardous chemicals is only for the solid material itself, and does not apply to hazardous chemicals used in conjunction with, or known to be present with, the material and to which employees handling the items in transit may be exposed (for example, cutting fluids or pesticides in grains).
..1910.1200(f)(3)
1910.1200(f)(3)
Chemical manufacturers, importers, or distributors shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace is labeled, tagged, or marked in accordance with this section in a manner which does not conflict with the requirements of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and regulations issued under that Act by the Department of Transportation.
1910.1200(f)(4)
If the hazardous chemical is regulated by OSHA in a substance-specific health standard, the chemical manufacturer, importer, distributor or employer shall ensure that the labels or other forms of warning used are in accordance with the requirements of that standard.
1910.1200(f)(5)
Except as provided in paragraphs (f)(6) and (f)(7) of this section, the employer shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals in the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked with the following information:
1910.1200(f)(5)(i)
Identity of the hazardous chemical(s) contained therein; and,
1910.1200(f)(5)(ii)
Appropriate hazard warnings, or alternatively, words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical.
..1910.1200(f)(6)
1910.1200(f)(6)
The employer may use signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or other such written materials in lieu of affixing labels to individual stationary process containers, as long as the alternative method identifies the containers to which it is applicable and conveys the information required by paragraph (f)(5) of this section to be on a label. The written materials shall be readily accessible to the employees in their work area throughout each work shift.
1910.1200(f)(7)
The employer is not required to label portable containers into which hazardous chemicals are transferred from labeled containers, and which are intended only for the immediate use of the employee who performs the transfer. For purposes of this section, drugs which are dispensed by a pharmacy to a health care provider for direct administration to a patient are exempted from labeling.
1910.1200(f)(8)
The employer shall not remove or deface existing labels on incoming containers of hazardous chemicals, unless the container is immediately marked with the required information.
1910.1200(f)(9)
The employer shall ensure that labels or other forms of warning are legible, in English, and prominently displayed on the container, or readily available in the work area throughout each work shift. Employers having employees who speak other languages may add the information in their language to the material presented, as long as the information is presented in English as well.
1910.1200(f)(10)
The chemical manufacturer, importer, distributor or employer need not affix new labels to comply with this section if existing labels already convey the required information.
..1910.1200(f)(11)
1910.1200(f)(11)
Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, or employers who become newly aware of any significant information regarding the hazards of a chemical shall revise the labels for the chemical within three months of becoming aware of the new information. Labels on containers of hazardous chemicals shipped after that time shall contain the new information. If the chemical is not currently produced or imported, the chemical manufacturer, importers, distributor, or employer shall add the information to the label before the chemical is shipped or introduced into the workplace again.
1910.1200(g)
"Material safety data sheets."
1910.1200(g)(1)
Chemical manufacturers and importers shall obtain or develop a material safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical they produce or import. Employers shall have a material safety data sheet in the workplace for each hazardous chemical which they use.
1910.1200(g)(2)
Each material safety data sheet shall be in English (although the employer may maintain copies in other languages as well), and shall contain at least the following information:
1910.1200(g)(2)(i)
The identity used on the label, and, except as provided for in paragraph (i) of this section on trade secrets:
1910.1200(g)(2)(i)(A)
If the hazardous chemical is a single substance, its chemical and common name(s);