The Monday issue of SafetyXChange included a quiz about Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) requirements based on a hypothetical situation. Your response was so positive that I've decided to push my luck and do it again. Here are two parallel quizzes about the rules governing computerized access to the MSDS-one for the U.S. audience and the other for Canadians. Good luck, North America.

U.S. VERSION

SITUATION

A liquid chemical transport company keeps an MSDS for each chemical it transports in a large binder at its tank-wash facility. Workers who clean the tanks have a habit of ripping the MSDS out of the binder so they can review them before they wash the tanks down. This means that MSDS' are constantly missing from the binder. To fix the problem, the employer throws out the binder and switches to an electronic system that allows workers to access each MSDS using a CD-ROM. Since many of the workers aren't comfortable using a computer, the employer gives everyone a four-hour course on accessing and printing MSDS'.

QUESTION

Does the employer's electronic MSDS system violate the OSHA hazard communication standard?

ANSWER

D No. The employer would not be in violation of HAZCOM as long as it ensures that workers have access to the electronic MSDS' at all times, even during emergencies such as equipment failures and power-outages.

EXPLANATION

HAZCOM requires employers to keep MSDS' for each hazardous chemical that workers are exposed to. But simply maintaining an MSDS binder isn't enough-the employer must also "ensure that MSDS' are readily accessible during each work shift." If MSDS' are missing from your binder, they're not "readily accessible." So you'll have to come up with a better solution. HAZCOM allows electronic access as an alternative to paper, provided that the electronic system doesn't create any "barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace."

WHY WRONG ANSWERS ARE WRONG

A is wrong because the employer in this hypothetical trained workers on how to use the electronic MSDS system to make them more comfortable with it. Assuming that four hours of training is enough, the workers should be able to access MSDS' with no problem.

B is wrong because training is only half of the answer. In an interpretation letter, OSHA emphasized that for an electronic MSDS system to comply with HAZCOM, the employer must also:

C is wrong because while employers must make hard copies of MSDS' available to workers, they don't have to keep a binder of them at the worksite. Another method of making hard copies available would be to let workers print the MSDS from the electronic access system.

Citations:

Hazard Communication Standard: 29 C.F.R. 1910.1200(g)(8).

OSHA Interpretation Letter: Manufacturer and employer responsibilities when providing MSDSs electronically, Dec. 30, 1997.

CANADIAN VERSION

SITUATION

Okay, Canada, it's your turn. Here's a version of the above quiz that's adapted for WHMIS.

A building supply company in Ontario has to keep thousands of MSDS'. Maintaining a paper system has become a hassle. Suppliers are constantly making changes to their MSDS' and furnishing MSDS' for new products. And every time the company gets a new or updated MSDS, it has to take apart and then reassemble the MSDS binder. So the company wants to computerize the MSDS' by making them available on a CD-ROM that workers can access on computers in the workplace. The company believes that the new system will not only be easier to maintain and update, but also simplify workers' access to MSDS'.

QUESTION

To ensure that its computerized MSDS access system complies with WHMIS, the company must do all of the following EXCEPT:

ANSWER

D The company must meet the first three conditions above, but it doesn't have to provide individual workers their own computers.

EXPLANATION

Although WHMIS requirements vary slightly from province to province, the rule regarding computerized MSDS access is basically the same throughout Canada: You can do it as long as MSDS' are "readily available" to workers. Most provinces have specific computer access requirements in their WHMIS guidelines. (We've cited three examples below.) However, no province requires employers to provide each and every worker their own computer. That's why D is the right answer.

WHY WRONG ANSWERS ARE WRONG

A is wrong because although workers don't need their own individual computers, they all need access to at least one computer in the workplace. It's also true that the employer must take all reasonable steps to maintain the computers in working order. Otherwise, a computer shutdown might cut off access to MSDS' for every worker in the company.

B is wrong because in order for MSDS' to be "readily available," all workers (and members of the JHSC) must be trained to use the computer system to access them. A worker shouldn't have to ask a supervisor or designated co-worker to get him an MSDS because he doesn't know how to do so himself using the computer system.

C is wrong because employers do, in fact, have to make hardcopies of an MSDS available to any worker who requests it. (Federally-regulated employers and those in Nova Scotia must also provide hard copies of MSDS' upon the JHSC's request.) Thus, you can't have a completely paperless system or throw away your MSDS binders.

Citations:

Ontario WHMIS Guidelines: www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/whmis/whmis_4c.html

Federal WHMIS Guidelines: www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/msdss.html

BC WHMIS Guidelines: www.worksafebc.com/publications/health_and_safety/by_topic/assets/pdf/whmis.pdf

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