The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) made clear, almost
20 years ago, that workers have a right to know about hazardous substances
to which they might be exposed.
Still, many workers are not properly advised
about hazardous substances in the workplace. Employers have an obligation
to tell workers about hazardous substances and how workers should take precautions
to protect themselves from injury while working with and around those materials.
Workers should feel free to ask questions to ensure that they are properly informed
as to all hazards and how to take proper safety precautions.
In 1987, OSHA amended
the Hazard Communication Standard to require all businesses, regardless of classification
or size, to communicate the hazards and precautions to workers about chemicals
at the workplace. Prior to 1987, the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard had
applied only to manufacturers.
The Hazard Communication Standard is intended to
provide workers knowledge of the identities and hazards of
the chemicals they are exposed to when working. The Standard is also meant to provide
workers information about protective measures available to prevent adverse
health effects resulting from exposure to those chemicals. The amended OSHA
Hazard Communication Standard establishes uniform requirements to ensure that
hazards of all chemicals manufactured, imported to, or used in workplaces in the
United States are evaluated for physical and health hazards and that hazard
information is transmitted to affected employers and exposed employees.
Manufacturers
and importers of hazardous substances are required to provide
hazard information to downstream employers through use of container labels
and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Additionally, employers are required to
implement a hazard communication program to provide hazards and precaution information
to their workers through MSDS, container labels, and training.
The Hazard Communication
Standard requires that employees be provided a hazard assessment, labeling program,
and MSDS for each chemical used in the workplace, as well as an inventory of all
chemicals. The employer must provide a written program describing the Hazard
Communication Standard to all employees and must demonstrate that all employees
are trained on the Hazard Communication Standard, including MSDS for chemicals
in the workplace.
Pursuant to OSHA regulations, employees are entitled to see
and copy their own medical records and records of their own exposure to toxic substances,
as well records of exposure to toxic substances of employees who have similar jobs
or working conditions.
Employers are required to maintain exposure records
and medical records for at least 30 years. Employers must also provide information
about workplace substances listed in the most recent National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances.
Both
employers and their workers benefit when employers comply with state
and federal "Right-to-Know" laws. Workers exposed to hazardous substances
in the workplace have an absolute right to know what those substances are and what
precautions they can and should take to protect themselves. Employers must
insist that their upstream suppliers transmit the appropriate hazard information
with all shipments of hazardous substances. Employers must then ensure that proper
hazards and precaution information are passed along to their employees.
Workers should educate themselves about exposure risks and monitoring records.
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