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WIIMIS SPECIAL EDITION Wednesday March 1989- Page Employers must adhere to rules of the game By DOUGLAS ARMOUR Toronto Bureau Thomson News Service TORONTO New laws governing hazardous materials in the work place present employers with rules to the game says Robert Dell of the chemical consulting firm Dell Tech Laboratories Ltd Before federal and provincial Workplace Hazardous Materials In formation System legisla tion was drafted information sup plied by manufacturers suppliers and importers of hazardous mater ials was unregulated explains Dell Prior to there were no rules to the game says Dell Some suppliers would exercise responsi bility and good conscience and supply material safety data sheets far bey ond what other suppliers were doing whereas another supplier would not Now at least there are rules to the game says Dell These rules include employee training Describing WHMIS as a far- reaching workplace legislation Dell explains that is designed to ensure all employers have the in formation needed to inform and train their employers about hazardous materials used in the workplace Information is the cornerstone of says Dell whose company has been producing material safety data sheets for chemical companies for the past nine years The most important benefit is just information good information about handling hazardous chemical pro ducts Prior to only materials such as pesticides and products sold to food plants and hospitals were cov ered by legislation But the plethora of hazardous materials used in the workplace and the paucity of detailed information on those materials pointed to the need for greater regu latory controls says Dell Moreover no common definition of what constituted a hazardous mater ial existed to give employees an indi cation of the nature of materials they were handling created that definition and backed it up with rules for employers in manufacturing supply and im porting sectors to follow in ensuring information on hazardous materials is passed on to employees in the workplace OBLIGATED Suppliers are now going to ad dress those things across the board and workplaces small and going to be obligated to put protective measures in place that will protect the employees against those things says Dell Much of that information already was being made available by larger companies For them much of the of tailoring their product in formation to meet the requirements of had already been done What it means to smaller compa nies is that now they will get the same types of information that larger com panies were demanding and getting previously says Dell Emphasizing that does not apply to consumer goods Dell says the regulations require more effort on the behalf of smaller companies In terms of setting up and operat ing the workplace safely within the context of WHMIS its not a new thing for larger companies But for a lot of small firms it will be Conceivably adds Dell even win dow washers will have to undergo training regarding the hazardous chemical solvents used on the job Some companies may not welcome the added costs of complying with WHMIS particularly suppliers of chemicals who are required to pro vide detailed product information for every chemical they market Most of the added expense how ever involves frontend costs for suppliers and users in reviewing and categorizing ingredients of chemi cals including compiling material safety data sheets and labelling all products WHMIS requires that all of this information be available in both English and French Ongoing costs also can be expected as new products are brought on the market information is updated and employees are retrained Dell adds EXTENSION Although the federal legislation and the provincial companion legis lation came into effect Oct 31 an extension was given to secondary suppliers to March 15 1989 to allow them time to comply with requirements Additional time was needed ex plains Dell because it was difficult for many secondary suppliers whose products are compounds of raw ma terials to get information on all the raw materials The provinces had set Jan 31 1989 as the deadline for employers to com plete employee training The exten sion granted secondary suppliers should have had little effect on work place training said a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Labor The employer must ensure that all the information from suppliers in cluding labelling and material safety data sheets which provide more in formation than the labels is avail able in the workplace This includes ensuring information is available for materials decanted into smaller containers and that those containers are properly labelled The employer is responsible for making employees aware of WHMIS and their rights under the legislation informing them of the employers re- sponsiblity under the legislation and of the general health hazards posed by hazardous chemicals The second facet of employee training is to address specific ha zardous products used in the work place including making sure that material safety data sheets are avail able and products are handled safely using the appropriate equipment The should be done to a level that addresses the exposure or the potential the person to hazardous materials says Dell So obviously its going to vary Secretaries will need little if any training compared to employees handling hazardous chemicals on a daily basis Although its requirements are many Dell predicts it wont be long before stepping into line with WHMIS becomes a natural extension of doing business in Canada Employees responsibilities under WHMIS BY PETER HAGGERT Toronto Bureau Thomson News Service So youre an employer with hazard ous products in use at your work place Whats your responsibility The responsibility begins the mo ment a hazardous material arrives at your workplace Under regulations the em ployer must make sure he has the required material documentation for controlled substances Its also the employers responsibility to train workers how to deal with hazardous materials When a controlled hazardous material is received its the employ ers responsibility to ensure the sup pliers label is on the container and that a material safety data sheet has been supplied If not the employer must contact the supplier and have him send the missing documentation If that materia is to be decanted into another container at the work- the new container must be to show the type of material and handling instructions as well as make reference to the availability of a material safety data sheet Labelling isnt necesary if a ma terial is being transferred for imme diate use If a hazardous or controlled ma terial is produced on site not sup plied it is the employers responsi bility to produce a material safety data sheet and to label the product to identify it as a controlled material Its also the employers duty to make sure proper handling instructions are immediately available For controlled materials contained in piping systems or can use various labelling devices or a combination of labelling and worker education to ensure identification of material and its safe handling After receiving a controlled ma terial from a supplier an employer may want to create his own material safety data sheet Thats allowable under as long as it contains the same information as the one from the supplier Workers must be made aware the original sheet is also avail able Any material safety data sheet must be accessible at the workplace Its also up to the employer to make sure workers understand what they re dealing with in terms of hazard ous or controlled materials To that end an employer must tablish a worker training program in conjunction with the workplace joint health and safety committee or a workers representative The employer must train employ ees to understand information on labels and information supplied on material safety data sheets The program must also educate employees on the safe handling use and storage of the hazardous mater- Its also necessary to train workers about emergency procedures to be used in relation to the materials The training program must be re viewed at least once 8 year Exposure to hazards loses working days More working days are lost in Ca nada each year through illness and workplace accidents than through la bor disputes says the federal govern ment Some of these accidents and illnes ses are attributable to exposure to hazardous substances A federal socioeconomic study of statistics estimated the social costs that year due to exposure to hazardous materials in the work place to be about This represents per cent of all payments made by workers com pensation boards in Canada that year