Global Harmonization and Changes to the Hazard Communication Standard – Part 2
As mentioned previously, the Hazard Communication Standard requires that a copy of the Safety Data Sheets for each chemical used or stored in the work area be readily available to employees. The term “material safety data sheet” or MSDS changed to “safety data sheet” or SDS. There is also now a standard for SDS, making them easier to read.
Safety Data Sheets are required by the chemical vendor and contain all of the pertinent information about the chemical including proper storage, safe use and disposal of the chemical.
To ensure that we have all the SDS information, the safety committee leads the hospital in conducting an annual chemical inventory ensuring we have an accurate list of all the chemicals in the hospital. These updated chemical lists are kept online using the 3E Chemical Portal. The 3E Chemical company links an updated SDS for each chemical on our list, making this information readily available to all and thereby meeting the Hazard Communication Standard requirement.
How do you find current information (SDS) on a chemical that you are using in your work area?
There are two ways to find that information at Houston Methodist:
- Call the 1-800 phone number on the yellow telephone sticker (1-800-451-8346). 3E will fax the SDS to you.
- Look in the 3E Chemical Portal on the intranet home page. From the “Frequently Accessed Pages” drop down menu, select “3E Chemical Portal”. You will then be able to search for the chemical you need and find the Safety Data Sheet.
One can only imagine the amount of time and paper we would have in our workplace if we kept printed copies of each Safety Data Sheet in addition to the labor it would take for us to keep the sheets current and organized for when the information was needed. Using the 3E Chemical Portal saves us time and gets us the information that we need very quickly!
Chapter 4 of the HMSL Safety Manual at http://www.tmh.tmc.edu/sugarland/firemanual.htm outlines our detailed written hazard communication program.
Want more info on the HazMat standard? More details can be found at https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom.
Watch for more information on this program in future issues of Chris’ Newsletter!