Policy 502: Hazardous Substances

502.1 Policy

CEI employees have the right to information concerning hazardous substances that they may be exposed to in the course of their daily work. This procedure is intended to help ensure that hazardous substances on CEI’s property are used in accordance with safe practices as established by manufacturers and that employees are aware of the potential hazards associated with the use of these products.

502.2 Scope

This procedure applies to all CEI employees that perform work in CEI managed facilities or on CEI owned property and use potentially hazardous substances in the course of their work activities.

Cosmetic and consumer products used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions shall be exempt from this procedure unless employees are required to work with them more often (or for longer periods of time) than a regular consumer (i.e. custodians, craftsman).

502.3 Definitions

• A hazardous substance can be any substance, whether solid, liquid or gas, that may cause harm to your health. Hazardous substances are classified on the basis of their potential health effects, whether acute (immediate) or chronic (long-term).
• Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are documents that list information relating to occupational health and safety hazards associated with the use of various substances and products

502.4 Procedures

Safety Data Sheet Program

The CEI SDS program ensures that current SDS manuals are available for use by all CEI employees.

SDS Coordinator

An SDS Coordinator shall be appointed and is responsible to:

• Coordinate the CEI SDS program for all CEI facilities
• Ensure that SDS manuals are consistent in format
• Document the physical location of each SDS manual (map and/or database).
• Ensure that SDS manuals are located in designated areas as documented (map and/or database)
• Perform periodic inspections to ensure SDS manuals are current

SDS Point of Contact(POC)

An SDS point of contact shall be appointed for areas that use or store potentially hazardous chemicals. The SDS POC will:

• Routinely update the SDS manuals for a specified area
• Ensure that SDS manuals contain current information
• Maintain the chemical inventory for a specified area
• Ensure that the SDS manual and chemical inventory match SDS Manuals
• Manuals shall be easily identified (i.e. yellow binder) and accessible to all employees
• Manuals must always be returned to the designated location after use
• The content of the manual shall be organized alphabetically (A-Z) according to product name
• Each manual shall be uniquely identified (i.e. CEI-SDS-001) for tracking purposes
• Electronic manuals may be used as long as a hard copy back-up is available for use in the event of a power failure.

SDS Manual Location

At a minimum, there shall be one SDS manual located in each facility where potentially hazardous materials are used or stored. Laboratories, classrooms, or shops that use potentially hazardous materials shall have a SDS manual specific to the area.

Procurement of Hazardous Substances

Procurement of potentially hazardous substances is at the discretion of department managers or supervisors and must be justified and approved by the Director of Facilities and Operations. The use of less hazardous substitutes shall be considered along with considerations for the safe storage and disposal.

An SDS must be acquired, prior to use, for any substance not currently in the inventory. The department manager or supervisor will be responsible for acquiring the SDS.

Storage of Hazardous Substances

All hazardous substances must be stored in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations and applicable state and local requirements.

Labeling of Hazardous Substances

Manufacturer’s labels on existing or incoming hazardous chemicals shall not be removed or defaced. If hazardous substances are transferred to secondary containers, a workplace label is required on the secondary containers. Workplace labels must be legible, communicated in English, and prominently displayed on the container. At a minimum, workplace labels must include the following information, which can be obtained from the SDS or manufacturers label:

• Product name (must match the SDS product name)
• Safe handling precautions, may include pictograms or other supplier label information
• Trigger Word(s) i.e. DANGER, FLAMMABLE
• A reference to the SDS (i.e., it’s location and product name)

If a hazardous substance is transferred to a secondary container that is intended for immediate use by the employee who performs the transfer then a workplace label is not required on the secondary container. The product must be used or disposed of during the one time use. Products may not be stored for any amount of time without a label.

Training

Employees shall be trained about SDS procedures and shall be required to read the applicable SDS before using hazardous materials. Supervisors may request additional training, from the Director of Facilities and Operations, before allowing an employee to work with a hazardous substance. Immediate supervisors are responsible to ensure the adequacy of the training.

Use of Hazardous Substances

Departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or manufacturer instructions may be utilized to provide detailed instructions for the use of hazardous substances at the discretion of the immediate supervisor.

At a minimum, employees shall use the minimum recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) as prescribed by the applicable SDS.

Disposal of Hazardous Substances

Disposal of hazardous substances shall be on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with local and state regulations.

References

Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200
OSHA Brief, Hazard Communications Standard: Safety Data Sheets
OSHA Brief, Hazard Communications Standard: Labels and Pictograms