Creating Hazard Evaluations with The Wercs

Kathy Morrow

Background InformationSetup InformationEvaluating MixturesMSDS / HE ComparisonBenefitsHazard Evaluation (HE) ExampleQuestions

Background Information

OSHA requires that companies evaluate the hazards of their products.

Hazards need to be communicated to employees and downstream users (via the MSDS).

ConocoPhillips wanted to create a publishable hazard evaluation document summarizing the results of the evaluation.

Setup

Create hazard categories (phrase families)Define phrases for each categoryAssign phrase severitiesCreate subformat for HE documentCreate / Promote component(s)Assign hazard categories to component(s)Finding / Basis / Source for each categoryUse components in substances or mixtures

Setup - Health Hazard Categories

Eye Contact

Skin Contact

Ingestion

Skin Absorption

Inhalation

Signs & Symptoms

Target Organ Toxicity

Carcinogenicity

Reproductive Toxicity

Mutagenicity

Setup - Define phrases for categories

Setup - Assign Phrase Severities

Setup - Create HE Subformat

Setup - Create / Promote Component(s)

Setup - Assign Hazard Categories (PTXT)

Setup - Assign Hazard Categories (CTXT)

Setup - Information for each category

Finding – the severity or weight of evidence assigned to the hazard (e.g. mild irritant, highly toxic, limited evidence of kidney damage, inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity, etc.)

Basis – the scientific or other basis for the assigned finding (e.g. irritation scores, LD50 values, study observations, human experience, etc.)

Source – the source of the information cited as the basis for the finding (e.g. literature review, journal article, textbook chapter, MSDS, etc.)

Setup - Review

PTXT (product level)

CTXT (component level)

Use evaluated components in substances or mixtures

Create hazard categories (phrase families)Define phrases for each categoryAssign phrase severitiesCreate subformat for HE documentCreate / Promote component(s)Assign hazard categories to component(s)Finding / Basis / Source for each category

Setup - Complete

Evaluating Mixtures

ComponentInfo

Wercs Autogenerate is used to quickly populate the category of a mixture, using the severity levels assigned to each of the phrases in each of the hazard categories for each component.

ProductInfo

Not an actual product… Demonstration purposes only.

Evaluating Mixtures

Not an actual product… Demonstration purposes only.

Professional judgment may warrant modifying the product category depending on the percentages of the individual components and/or known toxicity of the product itself. Reasoning for the modification would be entered into the Basis and/or Source fields.

MSDS / HE Comparison

MSDS

HE

Benefits Provides a separate subformat for toxicologists to

conduct hazard evaluations in The Wercs

MSDS Authors can quickly estimate the hazards of mixtures

Hazards identified in the Hazard Evaluation populate various sections of the MSDS

Categories for the mixture are easily reviewed by an MSDS Author prior to running rules

Hazard Evaluation can be published and used as documentation for hazards on MSDS

Questions?