WHMIS Training Presentation 2

A supplement to Presentation 1

Supplier Responsibility:

• Classify products• Put supplier labels on controlled products they

sell• Provide Material safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)

for those controlled products

Employer Responsibility

• Ensure that all controlled products at the workplace have proper WHMIS labels

• Ensure that MSDS sheets are updated and easily accessed by employees

• Ensure that employees get proper WHMIS training

Worker Responsibility

• Use WHMIS to protect themselves when using controlled products at the workplace

• Where applicable, check MSDSs to ensure that they fully understand hazards and are taking the necessary precautions fofr themselves and other workers

Exemptions• Wood Products – WHMIS Exempt• Tobacco – WHMIS Exempt• Manufactured Articles – WHMIS Exempt• Products controlled under other regulations

that are identified as hazards but are nor required to have MSDSs:– Explosives, cosmetics, food and drugs, radioactive

materials, consumer products• “Trade Secrets” – Only under special

circumstances. Secret ingredients must be registered with Federal Gov’t and provided to medical personnel in an emergency

Terms in MSDS sheets -1

• Auto ignition Temperature – lowest temp at which substance will catch fire without an ignition source

• Boiling Point – lowest temperature at which the substance will turn to vapor

• Carcinogenicity – ability of a material to cause cancer

• Coefficient of water - +1 value means that substance dissolves easily into water and mucous membranes (eyes, nose, throat)

Terms in MSDS Sheets - 2

• Conditions of instability – conditions such as pressure, jarring, heating, exposure to air etc. in which a substance will become self-reactive and dangerous

• Conditions of Reactivity – conditions such as light, temperature or lack of an inhibitor in which substances will react to each other

• Effects of acute exposure – health effects after single or short series of exposures

Terms in MSDS Sheets - 3

• Effects of Chronic Exposure – health effects after long exposure or small exposures that may accumulate over time

• Evaporation Rate – how fast a substance evaporate. +1 values get into the air (and into lungs etc.) very quickly.

• Exposure limits – concentrations that cannot be exceeded in workplace air

Terms in MSDS Sheets - 4• Flashpoint – lowest temperature that a substance

will give off enough vapor to ignite in the presence off an ignition source.

• Freezing point – highest temperature at which a substance will enter solid phase

• HMIRC Number – Number issued by the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission (HMIRC) to a “Trade Secret”. This number can be provided to medical personnel in an emergency if the employer cannot identify the substance. If no HMIRC number, it must be identified by more than a generic name.

Terms in MSDS Sheets - 5

• Irritancy – materials ability to cause redness, itchiness, or swelling in areas that it contacts the body

• Lethal Concentration and Lethal Dose – a substance’s ability to kill 50% of test animals when inhaled or swallowed. The lower the number, the more toxic it is.

• Means of Extinction – how to extinguish a fire of the substance

• Mutagenicity – the ability of the substance to change genetic material in somatic or reproductive cells

Terms in MSDS Sheets - 6

• PH – Greater than 7 is more alkaline or caustic. Lower than 7 is more acidic. Range form 0-14. 7 is neutral.

• Route of Entry – The way a material enters the body.

• Teratogenicity – The ability of a product to damage an unborn child without affecting the mother.

Terms in MSDS Sheets – 7

• Vapor Density – Values of greater than 1 means the vapor will collect in low lying areas and can concentrate to explosive or toxic levels.