www.thesafetymag.com/ca 21
COMPLETE LINE OF STRETCH WRAP
IN STOCK – READY TO SHIP
π
SHIPPING SUPPLY SPECIALISTS
COMPLETE CATALOG
1-800-295-5510
uline.ca
ORDER BY 6 PM FOR
SAME DAY SHIPPING
What are the challenges created
by SDSs?
L. Hallsworth points out the
"'information Tsunami' — a supplier
must update an SDS within 90 days of
becoming aware of relevant information
that may affect the way a chemical
should be handled. Managing the
changing SDSs, regulations, worker
turnover, worker health is a challenge."
"The volume of information found in
a collection of SDSs is overwhelming. A
typical workplace has in excess of 100
SDSs. To give an idea of the volume,
consider that an SDS averages 12 pages
in length. So, 100 SDSs is 1,200 pages of
documentation. That is a lot of reading,"
says R. Hallsworth.
L. Hallsworth says employers may
often not connect hazards identified in
WHMIS with the requirements of the
provincial occupational health and
safety acts. Furthermore, employers
may suffer from a "bystander effect" as
a result of the lack of clarity about the
role of the SDS.
"Many employers believe that
suppliers have included all information
needed for workers to use the product
safety and that workers will read the
SDS," says L. Hallsworth, but "it is
impossible for suppliers to give specific
guidance about how a chemical
product is to be used because every
workplace has different engineering
controls such as ventilation and
available PPE for workers."
Furthermore, she says that "reading
SDSs is time consuming and even with
WHMIS education, the average worker
does not feel competent to take on the
task. They just expect the employer to
tell them how the hazards can affect
them and how to use the product safely
(i.e., chemical-specific training)."
In addition, R. Hallsworth says that
too many products are not covered by
the HPA or WHMIS regulations. This
can include products such as
pesticides, explosives, drugs, etc. The
result of this, he says, is that the
information provided by these
suppliers is not in the same format or
may lack the clarity of an SDS.
"The two big challenges that we've
seen in the adoption of the SDS format
are SDS collection and training," says
McFadden. "The keystone in the arch
of GHS implementation is training. All
your classification and documentation
efforts don't mean much if your people
don't understand what they're reading
or why it matters."
McFadden says workers and
employers need to be trained to
understand both chemical hazards and
the GHS approach to classifying and
documenting these hazards.
Ultimately, McFadden says, "the
system doesn't rely on people
memorizing all the details — but it
does rely on people knowing where to
look to find the answers to their
questions."
"The keystone in the arch of GHS
implementation is training. All your
classification and documentation efforts
don't mean much if your people don't
understand what they're reading or why
it matters."
Brian McFadden, Graphic Products
