Chapter 71 - Hazard Communication

Abstract

Hazard communication works to reduce chemical illnesses and injuries by ensuring that workers and those who provide protections for workers—physicians, nurses, industrial hygienists, safety engineers, and other professionals—have the information they need about chemicals to devise protections. Selection of appropriate engineering controls, personal protective equipment, and controls such as substitution, is predicated on knowing what chemicals are present, what form they are present in, and what their hazardous effects are, including physical and chemical characteristics. Hazard communication is based on identification and transmittal of available information on chemical products. Over the last decades, the availability of chemical information in workplaces has increased dramatically, and the provision of labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS) with products has become a standard business practice. Initially, hazard communication focused on health and physical hazards and related information on safe handling. Gradually, the scope of hazard communication has broadened to include environmental hazards and regulatory information. In order to have complete and accurate hazard identification and communication of hazard and regulatory information on MSDSs, reliable data sources are needed. This chapter provides information sources relevant to the hazard determination and preparation of MSDSs.