Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System WHMIS

1
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS)

• PRESENTED BY
• Catherine Drum, BASc(OHS), CRSP
• Environmental Health Safety Officer
• Centre for Environmental Health Safety
  Management
• Ryerson University -- Wisdom Applied
• 24 November 2005 SCI180
• www.ryerson.ca/cehsm

2
Have you ever worked withchemicals before?

• Household cleaners
• Lighter fluid
• Gasoline, motor oil
• Paint and paint cleaners
• Cigarette cigar smoke
• Pesticides
• Nail-polish remover, hair spray

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

3
How do chemicals enter the body?

• Inhalation
• through the respiratory track.
• Absorption
• through the skin, the bodies largest organ.
• Ingestion
• through the mouth and digestive track.

4
Toxic Effects

• Once inhaled, absorbed or ingested, a chemical
  can
• enter the blood stream.
• travel to other parts of the body.
• Toxic chemicals damage organ tissues, etc.

5
Have you learned about WHMIS or had WHMIS
training before?

• Yes, at work
• Yes, at school
• Yes, at work and at school
• No.

6
WHMIS - Introduction

• WHMIS is an acronym for the Workplace Hazardous
  Materials Information System
• It is a hazard communication system developed
  jointly by the Canadian federal, provincial and
  territorial governments, business and labor
• WHMIS is directed toward transmitting information
  from the supplier to the worker
• This information will help workers work safely
  with the hazardous chemical and biological
  materials at their workplace

7
WHMIS - Introduction

• There are three major components to WHMIS
• Labels
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
• Worker Education

8
Application

• The term used to describe the hazardous materials
  that fall under the control of WHMIS is
  "Controlled Product"
• A controlled product is any product, material or
  substance that meets the criteria of one or more
  of the six WHMIS hazard classes
• Canadian suppliers are required to classify the
  controlled products they sell
• If you produce controlled products on-site for
  use at your work site, then classifying these
  products becomes your responsibility

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Exemptions

• Restricted products when packaged as consumer
  products
• Explosives within the meaning of the Explosives
  Act
• Cosmetics, drugs, food and devices within the
  meaning of the Food and Drugs Act
• Pest control products within the meaning of the
  Pest Control Products Act
• Prescribed substances within the meaning of the
  Nuclear Energy Act

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Exemptions

• Wood or products made of wood
• Manufactured articles
• Tobacco or products made of tobacco
• Is being transported or handled in accordance
  with the requirements of the Dangerous Goods
  Transportation Act (Ontario) or the
  Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (Canada).

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Exemptions

• Hazardous Wastes
• Ministry of Environment Environmental
  Protection Act
• http//www.e-laws.gov.on.ca81/ISYSquery/IRL477F.t
  mp/1/doc
• Regulation 347 sets out requirements for the
  handling, storage, management and disposal of
  liquid industrial and hazardous waste in Ontario.
  It includes a comprehensive manifest system to
  track these wastes from the point of generation
  to their final disposal. The regulation also sets
  out requirements for generator registration and
  defines responsibilities for generators,
  carriers, and receivers of liquid industrial and
  hazardous waste.

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Exemptions

• Note Consumer Products used at the Worksite
• Employers who purchase controlled products which
  are also consumer products are not required to
  re-label the products while they remain in their
  original containers and are not required to
  provide MSDSs for them.
• However, if the original label becomes illegible
  or is accidentally removed, or if the product is
  placed in another container, the employer will be
  required to ensure that a worksite label is
  applied.
• A worksite label for such a product would require
  only a product identifier and information for the
  safe handling of the product.

13
Exemptions

• Note Consumer Products used at the Worksite
• To meet the provincial WHMIS regulations
  definitions, the consumer product must meet three
  different criteria
• It must be available to the public at retail
  outlets
• It must be available in quantities and containers
  normally used by the consuming public and
• It must be packaged as a consumer product (i.e.
  labeled in accordance with the Consumer Chemicals
  and Containers Regulations).

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WHMIS Hazard Classifications

• Class A Compressed Gas
• Class B Flammable and Combustible Materials
• Class C Oxidizing Material
• Class D Poisonous and Infectious Material
• Class E Corrosive Material
• Class F Dangerously Reactive Material

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WHMIS Hazard Classifications

• Two of the classes, Class B and Class D, are
  subdivided
• as follows
• Class B Flammable and Combustible Material
• Division 1 Flammable Gases
• Division 2 Flammable Liquids
• Division 3 Combustible Liquids
• Division 4 Flammable Solids
• Division 5 Flammable Aerosols
• Division 6 Reactive Flammable Materials

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WHMIS Hazard Classifications

• Class D Poisonous and Infectious Material
• Division 1 Material Causing Immediate and
  Serious Toxic Effects Subdivision A Very Toxic
  Material Subdivision B Toxic Material
• Division 2 Materials Causing Other Toxic
  Effects Subdivision A Very Toxic Material
  Subdivision B Toxic Material
• Division 3 Biohazardous Infectious Material

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Symbols found on WHMIS regulated products
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Class A Compressed Gas

• Any substance under pressure
• including compressed gases, dissolved gases or
  liquefied compounds

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Class B Flammable and Combustible Material

• Division 1 Flammable Gas
• any compressed gas that forms a flammable mixture
  with air (1 atm, lt 13)
• Hydrogen, Butane
• Division 2 Flammable Liquids
• Any liquid that has a flash point below 37.8C
• Gasoline

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Class B Flammable and Combustible Material

• Division 3 Combustible Liquids
• Any liquid that has a flash point between
  37.8C and 93.3C
• Diesel Fuel, Organic solvents
• Division 4 Flammable Solids
• Any solid that readily ignites and burns
  vigorously
• White Phosphorus, Magnesium

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Class B Flammable and Combustible Material

• Division 5 Flammable Aerosols
• Any product that is packaged as an aerosol and
  yields a flame projection or flash back
• flammable propellants such as propane, butane and
  dimethyl ether
• Division 6 Reactive Flammable Material
• Any product that could spontaneous combust or
  ignite, or is liable to emit a flammable gas
• aluminum alkyls, metallic sodium and lithium
  aluminum hydride

22
Class C Oxidizing Material

• Any material that can cause combustion of another
  material by producing oxygen or any other
  oxidizing material.
• Any organic peroxide that contains an R-O-O-R
  structure.
• Eg. hydrogen peroxide

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Class D Poisonous and Infectious Material

• Division 1 Immediate and Serious Toxic Effect
• Any product that causes acute toxic effects,
  causing serious illness or death in a short
  period of time
• Subdivisions
• A LD50 lt50 mg/kg body weight.
• B LD50 50-500 mg/kg body weight.

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Class D Poisonous and Infectious Material

• Division 2 Other Toxic Effects
• Any product that causes delayed toxic effects
  causing serious illness over a long period of
  time (chronic).
• Subdivisions
• A lt10 mg/kg body weight.
• B 10-100 mg/kg body weight.

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Class D Poisonous and Infectious Material

• Division 3 Biohazardous Infectious Material
• Includes organisms that cause (or are suspected
  of causing) serious illness or death.
• bacteria or their toxins
• viruses

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Class E Corrosive

• Contains all acids and bases that are corrosive
• cause visible necrosis (death) of skin tissue
• Sulphuric acid
• Sodium hydroxide

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Class F Dangerously Reactive Material

• Contains material that
• undergo vigorous polymerization, decomposition or
  condensation.
• Pressure- or shock- sensitive reactions.
• ammonium azide
• on contact with water, react by releasing a
  poisonous gas.

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Labeling Requirements under WHMIS

• A label includes any mark, sign, device, stamp,
  ticket, tag or wrapper.
• There are two basic kinds of WHMIS labels
• SUPPLIER LABELS which are on the products when
  you receive them from the supplier
• WORKSITE LABELS are those that you prepare and
  attach on containers at the worksite

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Supplier Label

• There are seven items of information which must
  appear on the standard supplier label.
• Product Identifier
• Risk Phrases
• Precautionary Measures
• Hazard Symbols
• First Aid
• Reference to MSDS
• Supplier Identification

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Supplier Label

• There are also other requirements about the
  supplier label
• All the above information is to be enclosed in a
  distinctive hatched border
• No extraneous information (the hatched border
  must contain ALL the WHMIS information and ONLY
  the WHMIS information)
• With a few exceptions, the color of the label is
  not important, so long as the label is
  distinctive against whatever colored background
  it is on

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Exceptions

• There are certain special cases where less than
  the full seven items are required on the supplier
  label
• Small Quantities ( lt 100 ml)
• For small quantities of a controlled product,
  labeling requirements are less stringent.
• Only four of the items are required
• Product Identifier
• Hazard Symbols
• Supplier Identifier
• Reference to the MSDS
• The hatched border is not necessary

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Exceptions

• Laboratory Reagents
• There are special relaxed requirements for
  supplier labels on laboratory reagents.
• To qualify, a chemical must
• originate from a lab supply house
• be packaged in quantities of under 10 kg
• be intended for use solely in a laboratory

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Exceptions

• Laboratory Reagents
• The requirements of a lab reagent label are that
  it contain only
• Product Identifier
• Risk Phrases
• Precautionary Measures
• First Aid
• Reference to the MSDS, if available
• The hatched border is not necessary.

34
Workplace Label

• Worksite labels will be required
• When the supplier label has been lost or
  destroyed
• On individual containers in a bulk shipment
• For decanted product
• For controlled products produced and used on site
  
• On controlled products from before 1988-10-31

35
Workplace Label

• There are three
• requirements for a general
• worksite label
• Product Identifier
• Information for safe handling
• Reference to the MSDS
• The hatched border is not required for worksite
  labels.

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Requirements of a Workplace Label

• Normal day-to-day use
• Product Identifier
• Basic Risk Phases
• Statement that a Material Safety Data Sheet is
  available
• For use by one worker on one shift.
• Container label must display the product
  identifier
• For immediate use by a worker.
• Exempt from labeling requirements.
• This is being debated. We require a product
  identifier on all containers.

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Sample Workplace Label
38
Sample Workplace Label
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Responsibility of Producing Workplace Labels

• Primarily that of the worker
• The employer provides the necessary labels
• The worker ensures that the correct information
  is put on the container of the controlled product
• These labels may be preprinted or blank and
  filled in with details of the specific material

40
You have decanted some strong acid at 5M into a
beaker. It looks like water. You intend to use
the acid later in the experiment you are running,
so you set it down on the bench. Should the
beaker have a label of any kind on it?

• Yes
• No

41
MSDS

• There are NINE categories of information which
  must appear on the MSDS
• MSDSs must be readily available to the worker at
  the WORKSITE
• MSDSs must be read prior to working with the
  controlled product
• MSDSs are to be updated at least every three
  years and as soon as further information related
  to the controlled product becomes available

42
MSDS

• Must be available in English and any other
  language that is used by the workforce.
• Could be available in paper format or on a
  computer data base.

43
MSDS

• There are other stipulations that pertain to
  MSDSs
• The format of the MSDS is not prescribed
• There is a minimum content (9 categories) that
  must be supplied. The international MSDS, which
  is gaining in popularity, contains more
  information than the minimum requirement of
  Canadian law
• Under each of the headings, there are certain
  fields of information that are required

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MSDS

• Blanks are not allowed in any of the required
  information fields if the requested information
  is not applicable to the particular controlled
  product, the field should be filled with the
  words "Not Applicable". If the field is
  applicable, but the exact numerical value is not
  known, then the phrase "Not Known" should be
  inserted in the field

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MSDS

• The MSDS should also contain any other pertinent
  safety information which the supplier knows, or
  ought to know, about the controlled product. This
  is particularly true for infectious materials
  where pertinent information such as the
  transmission vector and the means of killing the
  organism should be given
• The MSDS information should be consistent with
  the label and classification information about
  the controlled product
• Note There are biological MSDSs available
• http//www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/msds-ftss/index.html

46
Requirements for MSDS

• There are 9 categories (see resources for
  description)
• Product Information
• Hazardous Ingredients
• Physical Data
• Fire and Explosion Data
• Reactivity Data
• Toxicological Properties
• Preventative Measures
• First Aid Measures
• Preparation Information

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Types of Worker Training

• Worker Education
• understanding of WHMIS
• MSDS
• Labels
• Significance of the information obtained from
  labels and MSDS
• understanding of duties of employer, supervisor
  and workers

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Types of Training

• Workplace Specific Training must include
• the chemicals used in the workplace and their
  hazards
• job safety instructions for each task
• proper storage, handling and disposal procedures
  for each chemical
• the types of engineering controls that are
  available to offset chemical hazards
• location of MSDS

49
Types of Training

• location of showers, eye wash stations, etc.
• procedures for first aid or emergency response
• when and what type of personal protective
  equipment must be worn, including inspection,
  limitations of use, proper donning and removal
  procedures, and care and storage instructions
• maintenance and repair procedures for equipment

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Worker Responsibility

• Important goal of WHMIS training is that the
  worker show that they have an understanding of
  the information and that they USE IT.

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Supervisor Responsibility

• Ensure that all the information is provided to
  the worker by following these steps
• Step 1. Determine all of the chemical products
  that are stored or used in your area. Begin with
  the WHMIS inventory, but also include
  non-controlled products, such as consumer
  commodities, pesticides and materials that may
  not be considered to be hazardous, such as oils,
  greases and soaps, etc. List them all.
• On-line chemical inventory
• http//www.river.dmp.ryerson.ca/cehsm/chemicalinve
  ntory/

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Supervisor Responsibility

• Step 2. Determine what hazards each of the
  chemical products present. Check MSDSs and other
  information sources to ensure that all hazards
  are known.
• Step 3. Once you know what chemicals are in use
  in each area, determine the specific locations,
  including machinery, equipment, pipes and
  vessels, where the products are used and which
  employees may be exposed.

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Supervisor Responsibility

• Step 4. Determine exactly how the material is
  used, how much of it is used per job and per day,
  when it is used, and for how long. Is it
  diluted? Is it sprayed? Is it used only inside
  a machine? Is it allowed to evaporate to
  dryness? Is the part or machine where the
  chemical is used at room temperature or hot?
  Answers to these questions will help you
  determine just how much training will be
  required.

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Supervisor Responsibility

• Step 5. Determine the possible routes of
  exposure to the employee and the routes of entry
  the material may take during use.
• Step 6. Determine what engineering controls,
  such as ventilation, are available in the area of
  use. Make sure the proper equipment is
  available, such as safety containers, grounding
  and bonding straps.

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Supervisor Responsibility

• Step 7. After reviewing the specific uses of the
  materials and engineering controls, determine
  whether employees are still required to wear
  personal protective equipment. If so, is it
  readily available and is it capable of performing
  under all conditions of use?
• Step 8. If the materials are not consumed in the
  process, is there a proper waste disposal
  procedure available?

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Supervisor Responsibility

• Step 9. Are there first aid and emergency
  procedures in place in case of accidents, fires,
  leaks and spills? Is the proper emergency
  equipment available? If the answer to either of
  these questions is no, develop the procedures and
  obtain the proper equipment before training
  begins.
• Step 10. Determine whether there are written job
  safety instructions available for each task
  within the workplace. If not, write them and
  have them available at the worksite.

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Definitions

• Odour Threshold
• The airborne concentration (in ppm) at which an
  odour becomes noticeable.
• Vapour Density
• The density of a vapour compared to the weight of
  an equal amount of air.
• Vapour Pressure
• The pressure (in mm Hg ) of gas in equilibrium
  with its solid or liquid form.

58
Definitions

• Evaporation Rate
• The rate at which a liquid changes to vapour at
  normal room temperature.
• Upper Explosive Limit (UEL)
• The highest concentration of vapour which will
  explode on contact with a source of ignition.
• Lower Explosive Limit (LEL)
• The lowest concentration of vapour which will
  explode on contact with a source of ignition.
• Autoignition Temperature
• Minimum temperature to cause spontaneous
  combustion (no ignition source).

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Toxicological Properties

• The toxicity of a chemical is primarily a
  function of dose.
• Each chemical has a target organ or part of the
  body that they affect.
• Two types of poisoning
• Acute (immediate effect).
• Chronic (long-term effect).

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Acute Poisons

• Irritant
• causes inflammation of the mucous membrane.
• Asphyxiant
• interferes with the bodys ability to use oxygen.
• Hepatotoxin
• damages liver tissue
• Neurotoxin
• damages the central nervous system

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Chronic Poisons

• Carcinogen
• causes cancer
• Mutagens
• causes irreversible changes to the genetic
  material
• Teratogens
• causes damage to a developing fetus
• Toxins
• decreases the fertility in men or women
• Synergistic effects
• causes an interaction so that their combined
  effect is greater than the sum of their
  individual effects

62
Exposure Limits

• Limits that a normal worker can be exposed to for
  8 hours a day, 5 days a week without any adverse
  effect.
• There are various terms that can be used to
  define these
• TLV threshold limit value
• TWA time weighted average

63
Other Measures of Exposure

• LD50
• Lethal Dose -the amount of a single exposure of a
  chemical that will kill 50 of a population
• LC50
• Lethal Concentration - the concentration in air
  of a chemical that will kill 50 of a population
  (usually over 4 hours).

64
Where can I get the MSDSsheets for my labs?

• In the labs
• From the library
• All of the above
• None of the above
• Not sure

65
Summary

• Perform a Risk Assessment on the work that you
  are doing
• Be familiar with the work that is going on in the
  same lab as you
• YOU must know the hazards, the associated risks
  and control measures in order to protect
  yourself, your colleagues and Ryerson

66
Resources

• Centre for EHS Management Website
• www.ryerson.ca/cehsm/
• WHMIS On-line Quiz (Certificate)
• http//www.river.dmp.ryerson.ca/cehsm/whmisquiz/
• Ministry of Labour (MOL)
• www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/hs/whmis/index.html
• Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
  Regulations
• 192.75.156.68/DBLaws/Regs/English/900860_e.htm

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Resources

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health Safety
  (CCOHS)
• www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/intro_whmis.html
• www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/msdss.html
• University of Toronto
• http//www.utoronto.ca/safety/whmis1.htm