Originally Published: 29 October 2017

As with all the hazards in the workplace, employers are responsible for protecting workers from chemical health hazards. Since these hazards are often undetectable by the human body, most employers must rely on Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) safety data sheets (SDSs) from suppliers to give the best information about the chemicals being purchased. 

What Are Suppliers' Obligation To Inform Purchasers?

Under the Canadian Hazardous Products Act Section 14.2, no supplier, at the time of sale, shall provide a safety data sheet that “is false, misleading or likely to create an erroneous impression, with respect to the information that is required to be included in a label or safety data sheet for that hazardous product”. However, some of the SDS health classifications for WHMIS 2015 depend on chemical-specific health studies, which are continually being conducted. This means that health classifications can change from the time an employer purchases a product from the supplier.

Isn’t the Supplier Required to Let the Employer Know About Updates?

According to section 5.12 of the Canadian Hazardous Products Regulation, if "significant new data" becomes available, the supplier can sell the chemical for up to 90 days without an updated SDS but they must let the purchaser know in writing about the new data.  If the supplier continues to sell the product after the 90 day period, they are required to provide the updated SDS to purchasers at the point of sale.

Ontario Regulation 860 (WHMIS) puts a heavy onus on employers to supply workers with updated information as it becomes available. Section 17.(2) of O. Reg 860 states "An employer shall update a supplier safety data sheet obtained under subsection (1) as soon as practicable after significant new data about the product is provided by the supplier or otherwise becomes available to the employer."

O. Reg. 860, 17.(3) further states that “An employer may provide a safety data sheet in a different format from that of the supplier safety data sheet for the hazardous product or containing additional hazard information if,

(a) the safety data sheet provided by the employer, subject to subsection 40 (6) of the Act, contains no less content than the supplier safety data sheet; and

(b) the supplier safety data sheet is available at the workplace and the employer-provided safety data sheet indicates that fact.”

The Ontario Ministry of Labour further emphasizes the employer’s responsibility in a publication entitled WHMIS and the Employer. In the section under Worker Education, the publication states,

“To understand what hazard information the employer is or ought to be aware of the following are considered to be sources of occupational health and safety information that the employer should know about:

• Publications and on-line information from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety;
• Publications from the employer’s industry or trade association, or from labour organization(s) representing workers at the workplace; and
• Publications and on-line information from the Ministry of Labour.

There may be sources in addition to those listed above that the employer may wish to consult.”

So, while the supplier has some obligation under the law to provide accurate information at the point of sale, once the chemical has been purchased, the employer owns the bulk of the responsibility to remain informed of changes and ensure their workers are informed and protected.

How Should An Employer Proceed When Purchasing Chemical Products?

Consider the examples shown in Figures 1 & 2 below. The hazard statements for the same substance from two different suppliers are summarized, as well as the exposure limits for the chemical according to Ontario Regulation 833. Note that the SDSs were sourced at the same time and were the latest available on the suppliers' website.

The date for supplier 1's SDS is more recent than that for supplier 2 and identifies that the chemical “May Cause Cancer”. Consulting the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) website, dichloromethane was indeed classified as a 2A carcinogen in 2017 and according to GHS, should be assigned the “May Cause Cancer” hazard statement. We can easily see how an older document may have no reference to cancer if the identification was only recently made.

When selecting a chemical product for purchase, employers should seek suppliers who provide up-to-date SDSs so they can accurately see the health hazards.  Knowledgeable and reliable suppliers are partners in maintaining healthy workplaces and can save an employer a lot of time and money.  If up-to-date SDSs are not available, employers can consult websites such as IARC for information on carcinogens, and regulations such as Ontario Regulation 833 & 490, for the chemical ingredients listed in Section 3 of the SDS. Digital solutions such as Rillea Tech's own SDS RiskAssist, can also read your SDSs and compare the ingredients found to regulations and lists such as those published by IARC. This can save employers huge amounts of time and free up expensive resources to focus on important risk assessment activities.

How Should Employers Use SDS Health Information To Protect Their Workers?

From a health perspective, there are 4 main concerns for chemicals; skin/eyes damage, skin absorption, ingestion or inhalation. Solutions for the first 3 health hazards are easiest to protect against. Inhalation, however, presents a bigger challenge.

Going back to the dichloromethane example, the occupational exposure limits across Canada and the US vary between 25 and 75 PPM time-weighted average airborne concentration for a work day. The Centres for Disease Control & Prevention lists the odour threshold for dichloromethane, also known as methylene chloride, at 250 PPM and indicates that the odour is “pleasant”. As a result, odour is a poor indicator for exposure to dichloromethane.

Given this information, an employer may consider eliminating the use of products that contain dichloromethane, which can include bonding, gasket maintenance and paint/adhesive removal products.  If elimination or substitution is not an option, then the employer must complete a risk assessment to understand how to limit worker inhalation exposure to dichloromethane. Industrial hygiene consulting services are available from organizations such as the Workplace Safety & Prevention Services. Engineering controls (use in a fumehood), administrative controls (use only in limited quantities) or personal protective equipment (PPE) (use only with a respirator), may be required.

Once the employer has completed this risk assessment into how to properly handle chemical products, a method to record and share this valuable information is required. Rillea Tech’s SDS RiskAssist is designed to support the identification of health hazards, risk assessment activities and to maintain and share the resulting information with employees throughout the organization. Contact us for more information, a demo or to get started with a free trial.