§5194. Hazard Communication

(1) This section requires manufacturers or importers to classify the hazards of chemicals which they produce or import, and all employers to provide information to their employees about the hazardous chemicals to which they may be exposed, by means of a hazard communication program, labels and other forms of warning, safety data sheets, and information and training. In addition, this section requires distributors to transmit the required information to employers.

(2) This section applies to any hazardous chemical which is known to be present in the work place in such a manner that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use or in a reasonably foreseeable emergency resulting from work place operations.

(3) This section applies to laboratories that primarily provide quality control analyses for manufacturing processes or that produce hazardous chemicals for commercial purposes, and to all other laboratories except those under the direct supervision and regular observation of an individual who has knowledge of the physical hazards, health hazards, and emergency procedures associated with the use of the particular hazardous chemicals involved, and who conveys this knowledge to employees in terms of safe work practices. Such excepted laboratories must also ensure that labels of incoming containers of hazardous chemicals are not removed or defaced pursuant to section 5194(f)(9), and must maintain any safety data sheets that are received with incoming shipments of hazardous chemicals and ensure that they are readily available to laboratory employees pursuant to section 5194(g).

(4) This section does not require labeling of the following chemicals:

(A) Any hazardous waste as such term is defined by the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), when subject to regulations issued under that Act by the Environmental Protection Agency;

(B) Tobacco or tobacco products;

(C) Wood or wood products including lumber which will not be processed, where the manufacturer or importer can establish that the only hazard they pose to employees is the potential for flammability or combustibility (non-excluded hazardous chemicals which are used in conjunction with wood or wood products, or are known to be present as impurities in those materials, and wood which may be subsequently sawed or cut, generating dust, are covered by this section);

(D) Articles (hazardous chemicals used in the manufacture or use of an article are covered by this section unless otherwise excluded);

(E) Foods, drugs, or cosmetics intended for personal consumption by employees while in the workplace;

(F) Retail food sale establishments and all other retail trade establishments, exclusive of processing and repair work areas;

(G) Consumer products packaged for distribution to, and use by, the general public, provided that employee exposure to the product is not significantly greater than the consumer exposure occurring during the principal consumer use of the product;

(H) The use of a chemical in compliance with regulations of the Director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation issued pursuant to section 12981 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

(I) Work operations where employees only handle chemicals in sealed containers which are not opened under normal conditions of use (such as are found in marine cargo handling, warehousing, or transportation); however, this section does apply to these operations as follows:

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law including the preceding subsections, an employer which is a person in the course of doing business within the meaning of Health and Safety Code Section 25249.11(a) and (b), is subject to the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65 or the “Act”) (Health and Safety Code § 25249.5 et seq.), and shall comply with the Act in the manner set forth in subsections (B) and (C) below. The following employers are not subject to the Act:

1. An exposure for which federal law governs warning in a manner that preempts state authority.

2. An exposure that takes place less than twelve months subsequent to the listing of the chemical in 22 CCR Section 12000.

3. An exposure for which the employer responsible can show that the exposure poses no significant risk assuming lifetime exposure at the level in question for the chemicals known to the State to cause cancer, and that the exposure will have no observable effect assuming exposure at one thousand (1,000) times the level in question for chemicals known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity, based on evidence and standards of comparable scientific validity to the evidence and standards which form the scientific basis for the listing of such chemical in 22 CCR Section 12000. In any enforcement action the burden of showing that an exposure meets the criteria of this subsection shall be on the employer.

(1) Manufacturers and importers shall evaluate chemicals produced in their workplaces or imported by them to determine if they are hazardous and classify the chemicals in accordance with this section. For each chemical, the manufacturer or importer shall determine the hazard classes, and where appropriate, the category of each class that apply to the chemical being classified. Employers are not required to classify chemicals unless they choose not to rely on the classification performed by the manufacturer or importer for the chemical to satisfy this requirement.

(2) Manufacturers, importers, or employers classifying chemicals shall identify and consider the full range of available scientific literature and other evidence concerning the potential hazards. This section does not require manufacturers, importers, or employers to conduct toxicological testing or epidemiological studies of the chemical(s) to determine how to classify the hazards. Appendix A to section 5194 shall be consulted for classification of health hazards and Appendix B to section 5194 shall be consulted for the classification of physical hazards. In addition, the manufacturer, importer, or employer classifying chemicals shall ensure that the identity and health effect of every chemical that they determine does not meet criteria in Appendix A for classification is noted on the safety data sheet if:

(A) The list of hazardous substances prepared by the Director pursuant to Labor Code section 6382 and as promulgated in title 8, California Code of Regulations, section 339.

(B) 29 CFR part 1910, subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

(C) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances in the Work Environment, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) (latest edition).

(D) Chemicals specifically identified and regulated under Title 8, Article 107, Dusts, Fumes, Mists, Vapors and Gases, and Article 109, Hazardous Substances and Processes.

(A) National Toxicology Program (NTP), Annual Report on Carcinogens, (latest edition).

(B) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs (latest editions) .

(C) Substances subject to regulation under the Occupational Carcinogen Control Act or which are regulated in Title 8, Article 110, Regulated Carcinogens.

(D) Substances that meet the definition of “select carcinogen” in Title 8, Section 5191.

(A) Manufacturers, importers, or employers evaluating chemicals shall follow the procedures described in Appendices A and B to section 5194 to classify the hazards of the chemicals, including determinations regarding when mixtures of the classified chemicals are covered by this section.

(B) Manufacturers, importers or employers are also required to list any hazardous chemical on the SDS known to be present in a mixture, where the chemical is:

(1) Employers shall develop, implement, and maintain at the workplace a written hazard communication program for their employees which at least describes how the criteria specified in sections 5194(f), (g), and (h) for labels and other forms of warning, safety data sheets, and employee information and training will be met, and which also includes the following:

(A) The methods the employer will use to provide the other employer(s) with access to the safety data sheet, or to make it available at a central location in the workplace, for each hazardous chemical the other employer(s)' employees may be exposed to while working;

(B) The methods the employer will use to inform the other employer(s) of any precautionary measures that need to be taken to protect employees during the workplace's normal operating conditions and in foreseeable emergencies; and,

(C) The methods the employer will use to inform the other employer(s) of the labeling system used in the workplace.

(1) Labels on shipped containers. The manufacturer, importer, or distributor shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked. Hazards not otherwise classified do not have to be addressed on the container. Where the manufacturer or importer is required to label, tag or mark the following information shall be provided:

(A) For solid metal (such as a steel beam or a metal casting) that is not exempted as an article due to its downstream use, or shipments of whole grain, the required label may be transmitted to the customer at the time of the initial shipment, and need not be included with subsequent shipments to the same employer unless the information on the label changes;

(B) The label may be transmitted with the initial shipment itself, or with the safety data sheet that is to be provided prior to or at the time of the first shipment; and,

(C) This exception to requiring labels on every container of hazardous chemicals is only for the solid material itself, and does not apply to hazardous chemicals used in conjunction with, or known to be present with, the material and to which employees handling the items in transit may be exposed (for example, cutting fluids, pesticides in grains or lubricants).

(A) The information specified under section 5194 (f)(1)(A) through (E) for labels on shipped containers; or,

(B) Product identifier and words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical.

(1) Manufacturers and importers shall obtain or develop a safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical they produce or import. Employers shall have a safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical which they use.

(A) Section 1, Identification;

(B) Section 2, Hazard(s) identification;

(C) Section 3, Composition/information on ingredients;

(D) Section 4, First-aid measures;

(E) Section 5, Fire-fighting measures;

(F) Section 6, Accidental release measures;

(G) Section 7, Handling and storage;

(H) Section 8, Exposure controls/personal protection;

(I) Section 9, Physical and chemical properties;

(J) Section 10, Stability and reactivity;

(K) Section 11, Toxicological information;

(L) Section 12, Ecological information;

(M) Section 13, Disposal considerations;

(N) Section 14, Transport information;

(O) Section 15, Regulatory information; and

(P) Section 16, Other information, including date of preparation or last revision.

(Q) A description in lay terms, if not otherwise provided, on either a separate sheet or with the body of the information specified in this section, of the specific potential health risks posed by the hazardous chemical intended to alert any person reading the information.

(A) Within 7 working days of noting this missing information, either from a request or in attempting to comply with section 5194(g)(1), make written inquiry to the manufacturer or importer of a hazardous chemical responsible for the safety data sheet, asking that the complete safety data sheet be sent to the employer. If the employer has made written inquiry in the preceding 12 months as to whether the chemical or product is subject to the requirements of the Act or the employer has made written inquiry within the last 6 months requesting new, revised or later information on the safety data sheet for the hazardous chemical, the employer need not make additional written inquiry.

(B) Notify the requester in writing of the date that the inquiry was made, to whom it was made, and the response, if any, received. Providing the requestor with a copy of the inquiry sent to the manufacturer, producer or seller and a copy of the response will satisfy this requirement.

(C) Notify the requestor of the availability of the safety data sheet within 15 days of the receipt of the safety data sheet from the manufacturer, producer or seller or provide a copy of the safety data sheet to the requestor within 15 days of the receipt of the safety data sheet from the manufacturer, producer or seller.

(D) Send the Director a copy of the written inquiry if a response has not been received within 25 working days.

(1) Employers shall provide employees with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced into their work area. Information and training may relate to general classes of hazardous chemicals to the extent appropriate and related to reasonably foreseeable exposures of the job. Chemical-specific information must always be available through labels and safety data sheets.

(2) Information and training shall consist of at least the following topics:

(1) The manufacturer, importer or employer may withhold the specific chemical identity of a hazardous chemical, or the exact percentage (concentration) of the substance in a mixture, from the safety data sheet, provided that:

(A) The request is in writing;

(B) The request describes with reasonable detail one or more of the following occupational health needs for the information:

1. The properties and effects of the chemical;

2. Measures for controlling workers' exposure to the chemical;

3. Methods of monitoring and analyzing worker exposure to the chemical; and,

4. Methods of diagnosing and treating harmful exposures to the chemical;

(A) Be provided to the health or safety professional, employee, or designated representative within thirty days of the request;

(B) Be in writing;

(C) Include evidence to support the claim that the specific chemical identity or percent of composition is a trade secret;

(D) State the specific reasons why the request is being denied; and,

(E) Explain in detail how alternative information may satisfy the specific medical or occupational health need without revealing the trade secret.

(A) The manufacturer, importer, or employer has supported the claim that the specific chemical identity or percentage composition is a trade secret;

(B) The health or safety professional,employee, or designated representatives has supported the claim that there is a medical or occupational health need for the information; and,

(C) The health or safety professional,employee, or designated representative has demonstrated adequate means to protect the confidentiality.

(1) Employers shall train employees regarding the new label elements and safety data sheets format by December 1, 2013.

(2) Manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers shall be in compliance with all modified provisions of this section no later than June 1, 2015, except:

(1) Appendices A to E of this section are incorporated as part of this section and the provisions are mandatory.

(2) Appendix F contains information which is not intended to create any additional obligations not otherwise imposed or to detract from any existing obligation.

(3) Appendix G contains the following 22 CCR Sections: 12201(a), 12201(b), 12201(c), 12201(d), 12201(f), 12201(k), 12502, 12601, 12701(a), 12701(b), 12701(d), 12703, 12705, 12707, 12709, 12711, 12721, 12801, 12803, 12805, 12821, and 12901 in effect on May 9, 1991 that are referred to in subsection (b)(6).