The following twelve steps provide employers with a guide to achieving
compliance with the law and to promoting safe and healthy working
conditions for employees.
STEP 1. Make an inventory of all materials.
- Walk around your workplace and prepare a written inventory of all materials that
may be hazardous, regardless of quantity.
- As you prepare your inventory, read the container labels and note the name
of the product; information about the manufacturer or distributor,
such as the name, telephone number, and location; and the general
work area where the product is found.
- Do not forget such things as compressed gasses, welding rods and alloy metals.
Also check for by-products and intermediate products that may
result from a process your company uses.
- Check with the person who purchases supplies to be sure that these materials
are included on your list.
STEP 2. Obtain Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
- When your company places its first order for a hazardous chemical, the manufacturer
should send an MSDS with the initial shipment. Manufacturers
and importers are required to provide an MSDS with the initial
shipment of a product to distributors and purchasers, and must
provide updated information with the first shipment after each
update. You may have received an MSDS previously and, not knowing
what it was, thrown it away.
- For each substance noted during the survey for which you do not have an MSDS, request
a material safety data sheet from the manufacturer or distributor.
If the request is made verbally, follow up with a letter to
document your request.
- If you are a manufacturer, you must conduct a hazard determination and develop an MSDS
for products manufactured at your facility.
STEP 3. Use the information on the material safety data sheet to determine
the chemical name and to identify the hazards of the substance.
STEP 4. Prepare a chemical information list.
- Arrange the material safety data sheets in alphabetical order by common or trade name.
- Review your inventory to be sure that you include all hazardous materials, even if
you have not received a material safety data sheet from the manufacturer or distributor.
- Using the material safety data sheets and the inventory, prepare a chemical information
list for your workplace. The list must:
- be arranged in alphabetical order according to common name,
- contain the chemical name, and
- identify the work area in which the hazardous chemical is found.
- Be sure that the same name or identity is used on the label, the MSDS
and the chemical information list to facilitate access to hazard and emergency information.
- If a product is a consumer product, be sure to consider the frequency of exposure
that a typical consumer would have and compare it to the frequency
of exposure of your employees. If your employees are exposed
more frequently or in greater amounts than the typical consumer,
the consumer product must be included on the list.
- See the following section for help in preparing your chemical information list.
STEP 5. Send the chemical information list to Maryland Department of the
Environment.
- Be sure to include, at the beginning of the list, the name of your company, a business
address, the date of preparation, and the name and telephone
number of a contact person. Send the list to:
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)
Technical and Regulatory Services Administration
Community Right-To-Know Section
1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21230-1718
- If MDE requests a copy of an MSDS, be sure to submit it within five working
days of the request. Otherwise you do not have to send the MSDS to MDE.
- Be sure to keep proof that you submitted the list to MDE.
- Retain a copy of the list and the MSDS at your workplace.
- By law, upon request, an employer must provide access to and copies of the chemical
information list, the written hazard communication program,
and material safety data sheets to employees, designated representatives
of employees, MOSH inspectors, fire officials, and to independent
contractors and other employers sharing a workplace. Fire officials
may request a list arranged by work area.
STEP 6. Develop a system for updating the list.
- As each new substance arrives in your workplace, be sure to obtain the MSDS. It may
be appropriate to include on the initial purchase order for
a hazardous chemical, as a condition of purchase, the requirement
to provide an appropriate MSDS. Be sure that purchasing personnel
notify you of any new products.
- When new materials are obtained, you must add them to the chemical list within
30 days. Be sure to include the date the chemical is added to the list.
- Realphabetize the chemical list every two years and submit the new list to MDE.
STEP 7. Conduct a hazard assessment.
- Go through your plant and identify each process in which a hazardous chemical is used.
- Using the hazard information on the MSDS, consider whether appropriate engineering
controls, work practices, personal protective equipment, emergency
procedures, and fire control procedures are in place to ensure the safety and health of your employees.
STEP 8. Check to see that all containers are labeled.
- Ensure that all containers of hazardous substances in the workplace are labeled,
tagged, or marked. The label must include both the identity
of the hazardous chemical and the appropriate hazard warnings.
Container labels for hazardous substances you purchase also
must include the name and address of the manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
- Check all incoming shipments of hazardous substances to be sure that they are labeled.
- If a container is not labeled, obtain a label from the manufacturer, importer,
or other responsible party, or prepare a label using information
obtained from these sources. Employers are responsible for ensuring
that containers in the workplace are properly labeled, tagged, or marked.
- Do not remove or deface existing labels on containers unless the container
is immediately re-marked with the required information.
- Instruct employees on the importance of labeling portable receptacles into which
they have poured hazardous substances. If the portable container
is only for the immediate use of the employee pouring the substance,
then the container does not have to be labeled. If the container
is used by more than one person, or on more than one shift,
or if it may be left unattended by the person using it, it must be labeled.
STEP 9. Develop an employee training and notification program.
- Employers must develop an employee training and education program that informs
employees of the requirements of the law, the employer's hazard
communication methods, and the employee's rights.
- The program also must include information about the nature of the hazards, appropriate
work practices, control programs, protective measures, and emergency procedures.
- Training Guidelines have been developed to assist you in preparing your own program.
See "Employee Training", later in this publication.
STEP 10. Train and educate employees.
- Initial training must be given to all current employees, and to new employees
prior to their first assignment.
- Additional training must be provided when:
- new hazards are introduced into the workplace,
- exposure to hazardous chemicals changes,
- employees are subject to increased exposure due to changes in work practices, processes or equipment,
- additional information about hazardous substances in the workplace becomes available.
STEP 11. Document the training given.
- Be sure to keep records such as:
- names of persons trained,
- date and length of training session,
- who conducted the training,
- type of training, and
- an outline or lesson plan.
STEP 12. Develop a written hazard communication program.
Your written hazard communication program describes how your Right-to-Know program
meets all the requirements of the MOSH Law and Regulations.
This program must include:
- Information about where your chemical information list and MSDS are maintained
and how employees may access them,
- A description of your labeling system and other forms of warnings,
- How you provide employees with information about hazardous, non-routine tasks, and
- How employees receive information about hazardous chemicals in unlabeled pipes.
A sample hazard communication program is provided later in this publication to assist you in
developing your own program.
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