Staff Ed: Understanding Container Labels and Hazardous Chemicals

You can help prevent illness and injury by reading and following instructions on hazard warning labels. You'll see these labels for hazardous chemicals and substances that you use. The container should always have a label. If you have questions after reading the label, check the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). The SDS has detailed information for the hazardous chemical or substance. Be sure that the label stays legible. You need to know what precautions to take when you use these chemicals or substances.

Always check the container label of hazardous chemicals. Do this before handling the substance. The container labels should list six categories required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The label is meant to educate users and prevent illness and injury from each hazardous substance. Others labels may give more details. Container labels show:

• Name, address, and telephone number (required). These details are about the manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
• Product identifier (required). This tells you the name of the hazardous chemical or substance and the code or batch number. A brief description or ingredients of the hazardous chemical or substance may also be listed.
• Signal word (required). This tells you the level of severity of the hazardous substance: either Danger or Warning.
• Hazard statements (required). This lists hazard warnings, like:
  • The need to keep the substance away from flames.
  • The need to keep it away from skin. It tells you the kind of personal protective equipment you should wear while handling the hazardous substance.
  • The need to use it in a well-ventilated area.
  • Steps to take if you splash it in your eyes or on your skin.
  • How to dispose of the container. As needed, other information should be added here to help prevent injuries and illness from exposure to the chemical.
• Precautionary statements (required). This names the kind of personal protective equipment you should wear while handling the hazardous substance and the procedure for storing it. As needed, other information should be added here to help prevent injuries and illness while using, handling, or storing the substance.
• Pictograms or graphic symbols (required). These use symbols or pictures to give information about the chemical's hazards. Eight required symbols are health hazard, flame, exclamation mark, gas cylinder, corrosion, exploding bomb, flame over circle, and skull and crossbones. One optional symbol is environment. These symbols help ensure workers' safety and health.
• Supplementary information (if applicable). This gives more directions on how to use the hazardous substance safely.

OSHA's hazard communication standard (HCS) describes a hazardous chemical as any chemical that can be a physical hazard or a health hazard. Based on statistically significant or scientifically valid evidence, HCS defines most hazards as the following:

A physical hazard is a chemical that is likely to burn or can cause a fire. It can release high pressure that can cause injury to the body or cause an explosion. It can react spontaneously or when exposed to water. Three types of physical hazards are:

• Fire hazards. These can be a combustible liquid, flammable liquid, flammable aerosol, flammable gas, or flammable solid. It can be an oxidizer. It can be a pyrophoric (a substance that catches fire when exposed to air).
• Reactive hazards. These can be an organic peroxide, an unstable (reactive), or a water-reactive.
• Explosion hazards. This is compressed gas or an explosive.

Health hazards are health effects that can result from a chemical exposure. These types of hazardous chemical exposures usually occur in a work environment. The information is based on scientific experiments on lab animals, reliable human data, cell and tissue studies, or data on chemical toxicities. Two types of health hazards are:

• Systemic effects. These can be caused by a carcinogen, toxic agent, highly toxic agent, corrosive, irritant, or sensitizer.
• Target organ effects. These can be caused by a hepatotoxin, nephrotoxin, neurotoxin, or blood/hematopoietic toxin. They can be caused by a respiratory toxin or reproductive toxin. They can be caused by a cutaneous (skin) hazard or an eye hazard.

Other hazards can cause:

• Cardiovascular, endocrine system, sensory organ, and gastrointestinal toxicity.
• Immunotoxicity.
• Skeletal/muscular and connective tissue effects.

Visit OSHA at www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/ghd053107.html for details about physical hazards and health hazards.