UNDERSTANDING GHS HazCom
Summary
· Shipping container labeling is very important.
o This is where you will find information about the chemical the quickest as opposed to the SDS which has the most detailed information about a specific hazardous chemical.
o On the label you will find the following six pieces of information
§ Name, Address and Telephone Number of the Manufacturer
§ Product Identifier – Meaning the specific product name or number which is what ties the Chemical to its shipping label, SDS and HazCom Plan
§ Signal Word – there will only be one signal word listed on the shipping label or if the chemical has a very low hazard level than there would not be any signal word. Prior to GHS there were three levels. In order from most hazardous to least - Danger, Caution and Warning. For GHS we go to only two signal words Danger and Warning with Danger being the most dangerous
§ Hazard Statement(s) – a brief summary of the specific hazards for that chemical
§ Precautionary Statement(s) – describes measures to be taken to prevent exposure or injury from a hazardous chemical
§ Pictogram(s) are red bordered diamonds representing the type of hazard the chemical possesses. There are nine (9) with one optional Environmental hazard class. These are found on both the shipping label and the SDS.
o The only time you can remove the shipping label from a hazardous chemical container is when the container has been emptied, cleaned out and rinsed.
o If the shipping label is not completely readable it is important that you do not use that container. Inform your Lead or Plant Manager.
· Hazard Ranking Systems
o Up till now most chemicals have been marked with one of two hazard ranking systems
§ NFPA – National Fire Protection Agency (Diamond on the left)
§ HMIS – Hazardous Materials Information System (Color bar on the right)
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o Both of these systems use a 0 to 4 ranking system with relation to three (3) safety aspects. Health – in Blue, Flammability – in Red and Reactivity – in Yellow.
o The ranking has 5 levels with 0 being the least hazardous and 4 being the most hazardous
o With GHS there is now a third and new hazard ranking system. This system’s ranking level is the opposite to the other two
§ The GHS hazard ranking system has 4 levels with 1 being the most hazardous and 4 being the least.
· The Hazard Communications plan or HazCom Plan is our company’s document that contains a list of all hazardous substances at your facility as well as the contents of an unlabeled pipe carrying a chemical. (None of our facilities have pipes carrying chemicals)