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Page 8 W11M1S SPECIAL EDITION Wednesday March 15 1089 Data sheets are key requirement for system One of the key requirements in the Workplace Hazardous Material In formation System is that suppliers of hazardous material must provide a material safety data sheet MSDS Employers are required to make the available to employees at each worksite All employees should know where the MSDS is kept and how to access it In essence the step two in the threestep system to make sure the people using this material in the workplace have the information they need provides information about the and cites recommended andling procedures and firstaid procedures These sheets should be read before the product is used then kept for future reference The exact format for these data sheets is not specified under WHMIS but there are nine information sec tions that must be covered on each The following information was pre pared by Dell Tech Laboratories Ltd a chemical consulting firm SECTION I PRODUCT INFORMA TION Product Name or identifier 2 Manufacturer or suppliers name address and emergency phone number 3 Product use Preparers name 5 Date cannot be older than three years SECTION HAZARDOUS INGRE DIENTS 1 Hazardous ingredients by name 2 Chemical Abstracts Numbei CAS if available 3 LD50 and LC50 values if available and TLV value CAS This registry number is aun- ique and universal number assigned to a chemical The number is cited when someone is looking for addi tional information on the chemical The Lethal Dose of a that will kill per cent of the animals it is given to Application is either by feeding or applied to skin The lower the number the more poi sonous the material The Lethal Concentration in breathing air that will kill per cent of the animals in the test The lower the number the more dangerous the material SECTION III PHYSICAL DATA Form Gas Liquid or solid Appearance Color thickness etc Odor This information helps to identify if you have the right material or if it has changed in any way If it is different or has changed it should not be used Specific Gravity How heavy a material is relative to water If the specific gravity is less than l it is lighter than water and may float on water if spilled Vapor PressureBoiling Point If a material has a high vapor pressure andor low boiling point it usually means that the liquid will evaporate quickly and can contaminate brea thing air It also means that danger ous pressure may build up in closed containers when set in the sun or near a heat source Vapor Density If vapor density is less than air it will rise up and dissi pate If it is greater than air vapor will settle and collect in low areas pH A of close to means the material is neutral like pure wa ter It is neither acidic or alkaline The lower the below 7 the more acidic is the liquid The higher the above 7 the more alkaline is the ma terial Both acids and alkalis can be corrosive SECTION FIRE AND EXPLO SION DATA Flash PointAuto Ignition Point The lower the value the more likely it is to ignite or explode UEL UFL Upper Explosive Limit Upper Flammability Limit LEL Lower Explosive Limit Lower Limit The wider the range between UEL and LEL the more likely it is to produce an explosive or combustible mixture with air Dangerous Gases Some materials produce toxic or dangerous gases when they burn Fire Extinguishing Procedures The right chemicals or procedures to put out the fire ACCEPTABLE FORM FOR THE SUPPLIER LABEL New containers used must be labelled When a company decants trans fers hazardous materials from a supplierlabled container into another container the new container must be labelled with a workplace label created by the company using the materials Workplace labels are also required for any containers without a label that were shipped in by a supplier mixing vessels pipes or containers of hazardous materials or waste gener ated in the workplace These workplace labels may be simpler than a supplier label which must meet strict standards but must have Product identification Safe handling procedures Reference to a Material Safety Data Sheet What is hazardous How can you tell if a product you are manufacturing or using is a con trolled product hazardous mater ial Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System WHMIS reg ulations established criteria for identifying hazardous materials The criteria is listed in the Hazardous Products Act There are six classes of controlled products cited in the act If your pro duct meets the detailed criteria listed under one or more of the six classes than it is a controlled product While there are six classes there are eight categories The eight WHMIS sym bols represent the eight categories The classes are A Compressed Gas Flammable and Combustible Material Oxidizing Material Poisonous and Infectious Ma terial three categories Poisonous immediate 2 Toxic and Bioha- zardous Infectious Material Corrosive Dangerously Reactive Ma terial The act lists specific tests for some classes For example if you need to determine if a product is a flammable liquid you follow the test procedure cited in the act Once a supplier determines he has a controlled hazardous product he turns to the Ingredient Disclosure List IDL There are chemicals listed on the If the supplier is using any of them they must be listed on the ma terial safety data sheet that the supplier must provide his cus tomers with Under a supplier of a con trolled product must place a special label there are specific rules to fol low on the product as well as pre paring a MSDS WHMIS rules for suppliers are set out in the Controlled Products Reg ulations the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations the Ingredient Disclosure List and an amendment to the Canada Occupa tional Safety and Health Regulations These regulations were published in the Jan 20 1988 edition of Part II of the Canada Gazette and can be ob tained from the Canadian Govern ment Publishing Centre Ottawa Ca nada KlA 0S9 or by calling 819 Hazard Symbol Symbols do danger Precautionary Meaaures do prevention Product Identifier Identlllcateur produll Risk de It SEE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET VOIR LA SIGNALETI SUPPLIER IDENTIFIER IDENTIFICATEUR DU Reference to the Renvoi a la Diagram provided by Labour Canada Supplier Identifier Special Precautions Will it ignite or explode from sparks or being dropped compressed etc SECTION V REACTIVITY DATA Other substances that will react with it and the hazardous produced as well as the conditions under which the reaction normally takes place SECTION VI DATA Toxicology Information De scribes the results immediate acute or long term chronic from ingesting or absorbing the toxic ma terials and suggested exposure lim its if any SECTION VII PREVENTATIVE MEASURES Handling Information Recom mended safe procedures when work ing with hazardous materials Gloves eye protection or required breathing protection respirators are listed It will tell you if the work place must be ventilated or enclosed or if temperature or humidity must be regulated Shipping storage and waste dis posal information is also provided as well as procedures for leak spill or accident SECTION VIII FIRSTAID PRO CEDURES First Aid How to handle exposure to a hazardous or toxic material as a first response procedure SECTION ADDITIONAL IN FORMATION Additional Material Will contain additional information the supplier thinks is important for the safe hand ling of the product May contain preparation informa tion date etc as well as shipping numbers and names or where to ob tain additional information Support your community BLUE BOX program Recycle this newspaper glass bottles and jars aluminum and steel food and beverage cans and plastic soft drink containers RECYCLING It only works if we aU do our part Suppliers must use labels various companies have labels on hazardous materials or the workplace The amount and usefulness of the information varied as there were no national standards to meet Now there are As the first step in a new threestep program designed to provide the peo ple who work with hazardous mater ials with the information they need suppliers of these materials now have national standards to follow Under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System sup pliers have to use a label with a spe cial border The information on that label must be bilingual and include the suppliers name product identifi cation one or more precautionary statements one or more firstaid statements and a reference to a ma terial safety data sheet step two in the program Each label must also include at least one special symbol Eight sym bols have been designated under for this purpose All eight have a round border The symbols include COMPRESSED GAS The symbol in dicates there is pressure inside the container ir the container is damaged it may rupture or ex plode FLAMMABLE COMBUSTIBLE GasLiquid Solid Readily ignites or burns or may be explosive in some situations This material may react with water toproducea flammable gas This material produces oxygen or contributes to oxidizing or burning of another sub stance POISONOUS Immediate Serious Effect Material will act quickly to pro duce serious ef fects or death if it enters the body mation Long- kidney or liver term effects can damage eventual include chronic cancer birth de- lung problems or sterility BIOHAZARDOUS Will produce less serious or less immediate effects if it enters the body Immediate effects can in clude eye or skin irritation or re spiratory inflam- DANGEROUSLY REACTIVE Material will react dangerously with other ma terials or is unst able May react with water to pro duce dangerous gases May undergo violent Danger chemical may occur from tions heating up Jarring com- or exploding the pressing beating container under or even exposure certain condi- to light