Those of us who took HAZWOPER courses in the days of paper information resources (e.g. chemical dictionaries, Merck index, the Sigma/Aldrich safety information catalog, the NIOSH “pocket" guide etc.) were often taught not to make a operational decision until you had confirmed a relevant piece of data with at least 3 sources.

The idea was that it was possible that you did not want to put responders at risk based on a typo in the single source of truth you were using to collect flashpoint, LEL or TLV. (This idea is even trickier in our current networked electronic information environment, where it is often unclear where the data cited in an SDS or other resource originated from.)

My questions for the group are:

1) Does anyone know where the idea of checking 3 resources came from? Is this based on technical considerations such as how often typos show up in paper documents, or is it more the idea that if something goes wrong, 3 sources are appropriate to demonstrate due diligence in a legal setting?

2) What level of quality assurance for hazmat and other lab safety information do you use in 2023?

Thanks for any thoughts on either of these questions.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
ralph**At_Symbol_Here**rstuartcih.org

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