From: ILPI Support <info**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] GHS labels for food stuffs used in labs
Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2015 17:38:38 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 74F39E30-BAA7-4DD6-8360-7C75AA0D1213**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com
In-Reply-To <58C74A3BBE6D644C8538C5848AC53025D4E86C8E**At_Symbol_Here**EROS.westerntc.edu>


My pleasure.  The "missing manufacturer" problem is one that has been around for years.  We have a writeup in our MSDS FAQ on it: http://www.ilpi.com/msds/faq/partd.html#missing

BTW, it's fairly unlikely your work site would ever be OSHA inspected when you consider there are 2,200 inspectors for 130 million workers employed at 8 million work sites around the nation: https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html   And keep in mind that most OSHA inspections are the result of incidents involving reportable accidents, injuries, fatalities or complaints.    And OSHA fines so absurdly small that they have no deterrent value - 4 people were killed at a DuPont plant and they were cited for one repeat and nine serious violations.   The fine?  $99,000.   That will teach DuPont to clean up their act (roll eyes): https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/EIDuPontDeNemours_1008319_14May2015.pdf     Of course, other agencies can also inspect - the EPA has nailed a number of universities over the years on waste violations and levied some rather significant fines, but again, it's still low probability.

But if you are bound by what you describe below, should it come to an actual inspection, the last paragraph of the FAQ entry contains your last ditch hope.  The HazCom Standard is performance-based which means while there are i's to dot and t's to cross, for the most part, OSHA mostly cares that you are making a demonstrable good faith effort to comply as best you can.  If you do resort to using similar product SDS's to cover your old items, just be sure to attach appropriate notations to the sheets that this is what you're doing and that the SDS can be cross-referenced to the label on the product.

Finally, I'll just add that this may be a situation where your effort may be better spent raising a ruckus up the administration chain (if your employment circumstances and personal energy permit) about the state of your chemical inventory and compliance.  If your situation does reflect a serious safety issue (and potential legal liability), then money needs to be budgeted to address it.  Obviously, small schools have tight budgets, but safety must be a fairly significant priority.  I'm sure others on the list may have gone down this road and may be able to offer advice off-list.

Rob Toreki

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On Jun 17, 2015, at 3:32 PM, "Osterby, Meg" <OsterbyM**At_Symbol_Here**WESTERNTC.EDU> wrote:

Thank you Rob, That's really helpful.  I'm glad I can forget about labeling hotdogs and chips and pop, since they are considered non-hazardous, even though we aren't eating them.  And many of the other consumer products I've found labels for online, but there are some older containers, where the contents are still okay for our lab purposes, where I can't find the info.  Some are old store brands that the store no longer carries, and they don't have MSDS's.  I've been told by several list-serve members to just ditch the old stuff and buy new, but my yearly budget just manages to cover replacement chemicals that I've used up, and replacement of broken glassware, etc. and I do not have the money to purchase newer versions of all the older chemicals.  Obviously, if the chemical has degraded, I do dispose of it and replace it, but with a small budget, I'm limited in how many of those I can do per year.  I am the only full time chemistry teacher here at Western, so this job is all mine, even when it's annoying and knit-picky as this assignment is turning out to be..
 
Thanks again,
Meg
 
Meg Osterby
Lead Chemistry Instructor
Western Technical College
400 7th St. N.
LaCrosse, WI 54601
608-789-4714
 
"It's  better to be careful 100 times, than to be killed once." 
                                                    Mark Twain
 
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of ILPI Support
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 1:42 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] GHS labels for food stuffs used in labs
 
Under the HCS (29 CFR 1910.1200, the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard),https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10099
 
1910.1200(b)(5)
This section does not require labeling of the following chemicals:
1910.1200(b)(5)(v)
Any consumer product or hazardous substance as those terms are defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) and Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) respectively, when subject to a consumer product safety standard or labeling requirement of those Acts, or regulations issued under those Acts by the Consumer Product Safety Commission; and,
I read the above to indicate that for consumer products, no GHS labeling is required.  So you as long as you keep the stuff in the original packaging and labels, you're fine.
 
However, when you get to the SDS, there's a fly in the ointment:
 
 
This section does not apply to:
Any consumer product or hazardous substance, as those terms are defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) and Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) respectively, where the employer can show that it is used in the workplace for the purpose intended by the chemical manufacturer or importer of the product, and the use results in a duration and frequency of exposure which is not greater than the range of exposures that could reasonably be experienced by consumers when used for the purpose intended
And that's the phrase "for the purpose intended by the chemical manufacturer…"  Which is where your consultant is getting hung up on.  And (s)he's missing the forest for the trees.   Consumer product of not is not a litmus test for SDS's, it's whether or not the material ishazardous under the OSHA definition.
 
Under the OSHA definition of hazardous, food items such as hot dogs, potato chips and soda are going to be non-hazardous.  They have no SDS and you would not be required to have SDS for them.  Labeling provisions of the HCS would also not apply. 
 
However, some consumer products are indeed hazardous, and if you use such products in a non-consumer fashion, then an SDS is required.  The classic example is Windex - there is no need for an SDS on Windex if you use it in your office to clean your window as often as a regular consumer would at home.  However, if it is your job to clean windows all day, then an SDS is required.
 
You will find that SDS's for these hazardous products already exist are relatively easy to obtain.   The Works certainly has one, along with Windex, WD-40, Wite-out and a host of other products.  You can usually get these off the manufacturer's web sites.  Some quick examples:
 
            http://www.theworkscleans.com/toiletcleaner.html (click on MSDS link)
            http://www.officedepot.com/pdf/msds/903598.pdf  (do people use this anymore?)
 
I would err on the side of enforcement caution and consistency and consider adding GHS labeling to consumer products which do have SDS's - just be sure not to obscure the manufacturer's labels in the process.
 
Best wishes,
 
Rob Toreki
 
 ======================================================
Safety Emporium - Lab & Safety Supplies featuring brand names
you know and trust.  Visit us at http://www.SafetyEmporium.com
esales**At_Symbol_Here**safetyemporium.com  or toll-free: (866) 326-5412
Fax: (856) 553-6154, PO Box 1003, Blackwood, NJ 08012
 

 

 
On Jun 17, 2015, at 1:36 PM, "Osterby, Meg" <OsterbyM**At_Symbol_Here**WESTERNTC.EDU> wrote:


Hello all,
 
Our safety consultant has been told that in the State of WI, one needs to have SDS sheets and GHS labels for household products, whether food or not, that are used in chemical experiments.  I'm hoping she's wrong, since we analyze cattle feeds (soy, corn, alfalfa, and mixed grains) for our agribusiness students, hotdogs for our bioorganic students, as well as egg white, milk, etc. also for them, and a whole slew of foods, cleaners, and personal hygiene products, which we measure the pH of, for our general chemistry courses.  According to the consultant, if we are using a product for other than its intended use, in a lab, we have to have it properly labelled, and have to have SDS's. 
 
I am aware that most colleges and universities in the US are exempt from many of the OSHA, and GHS provisions, but here in WI, the technical college system is governed by the DPI, ultimately, and their documents pertaining to these issues, state that all schools in WI, under the DPI, must follow federal OSHA and other chemical regulatory bodies rules.  So, while my husband works at a State 4 year University, and has to do none of this, I'm at a Technical College, and have to.
 
I'm working on it this year, because the College is undergoing some renovations, that will make it impossible to do next year.
 
So, my question is this: If I'm supposed to properly label according to GHS, and have SDS sheets for everything I use in labs, how do I get them?  I'm fairly sure you can't look up an SDS or MSDS for Oscar Meyer beef franks, for instance, or for Gillette Men's Gel Deodorant, or for 7-Up, so what do I do?  Do I just make (relatively useless) labels saying they are harmless?  If so, then what about measuring the pH of Cascade liquid, or The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner?  That's proprietary, and they're not going to want to give me the SDS, right? And yet, the Cascade is pH higher than 14, and the Works less than 0.   And while soda pop (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7-Up) can ruin a car finish, they are generally considered harmless.
 
I am definitely getting the idea of why this isn't done by most states for their schools.   This is really a difficult project I'm trying to get done.
 
Any helpful info the list can give me, would be appreciated.  It is okay to respond to me directly.
 
Thanks much,
Meg
Meg Osterby
Lead Chemistry Instructor
Western Technical College
400 7th St. N.
LaCrosse, WI 54601
608-789-4714
 
"It's  better to be careful 100 times, than to be killed once." 
                                                    Mark Twain
 
 

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