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NAGEL
MIRIAM C. Avon High School Awn. CT 06001
Labeling in Hazard Communication Stephen K. Hall Department of Occupational Health, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, OH 43699
A label is a written or printed message affixed to the container for identification. descriotion. or other information of its contents. I t may contain single word or phrase or even statements and symbols to convey the intended information from the manufacturer t o the person who uses or otherwise handles the contents in the container. While more detailed information can be found in other appropriate material such as the manufacturer's material safety data sheets, technical bulletins, or other literature, a container label is usually the only economical and convenient communication device available to a manufacturer for precautionary information dissemination. The develooment of new chemicals and the introduction of new chemical processes have prompted a need to furnish information, as adequately as possible, for the guidance of persons who, in their occupations, use, handle or store hazardous chemicals. The dissemination of this information should not only include appropriate precautionary statements but also information directed to the avoidance of hazards resulting from the occupational use, handling, and storage that may be reasonably foreseeable.
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Excerpts from a paper presented at the 189th National Meeting of the ACS. Miami Beach. FL, May 1985. American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway. New York. 10018.
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The current edition of the "American National Standard for the Preraurionars Labeline of Hazardous Industrial Chemicals," ANSI ~li9.1-1982,';elies primarily upon atext to convev its messaee. The followina- are considered for inclusion on labels: Identity of product or hazardous camponent(s) Signal word Statement of hazards (4) Precautionary measures (5) Instructions in case of contact or exposure (6) Antidotes (7) Notes to ohvsieians ., 18) Instr!rcrlms in case uf fire and spill or leak, and (91 lnrtrurtwnu for conromer handling and atorage Identification of the product or its hazardous chemicals component(s) may permit selection of proper action in case of exposure. If the product is a mixture, those chemicals that contribute substantiallv to the hazardfs) shall be identified. A signal word is then selected to indicate the potential hazard of the chemical. "DANGER" indicates the hiehest degree of potential hazard, "CAUTION" the lowest;and "WARNING" is intermediate. When a chemical has more than one hazard, only the signal word corresponding to the class of greatest hazard is used. For highly toxic chemicals,
Volume 63 Number 3
March 1986
225
the word "POISON and the skull and crossbones are included. The statement of hazards gives notice of the potential hazards that may be present in connection with the handling or use of the chemical. When a chemical possesses more than one hazard, an appropriate statement for each significant hazard is included and the most serious hazard is placed first. The precautionary measures supplement the statement of hazards by providing briefly measures to he taken to avoid possible injury from the hazards. Instructions in case of contact or exposure are included where the results of contact or exposure warrant immediate treatment or first aid and where simple remedial measures may he taken safely before assistance arrives. Antidotes that may be administered by a lay person are included on the label under the designation, "Antidote." Those that must be administered bv. a ~hvsician are under . . the designation, "Note to Physicians." Instructi~msin rase of fire and sl)illor leak are included to provide persons who handle containers during shipment and storage with appropriate instructions for confining and extinguishing fires and for cleaning up spills or leaks. Instructions for container handling and storage are included to provide additional information for those chemicals requiring special or unusual handling and storage procedures. The National Fire Protection Association Identification of the Fire Hazards of Materials (NFPA No. 704) was first tentatively adopted in 1960, officially adopted in 1961, and last revised in 1980.2As originally conceived, the purpose of the system is to safeguard the llves of those individuals who may be concerned with fire occurring in an industrial plant or storage location where the fire hazards of materials may not he readily apparent. I t is concerned with the health, fire, reactivity, and other related hazards created by short-term exposure as might be encountered under fire or related emergency conditions. I t does not, however, apply to transportation or to use by the general public. This identification system provides a simple and readily recognizable marking that will give a t a glance a general idea of the inherent hazards of any material and the degree of seventy of these hazards as they relate t o fire prevention, exoosure. ~.and control. Thissystem identifies the halardsofa material in terms uf thrrr nrinci~alcateeoriei. n a m e l ~"Health." , "Flammnbility," ahd "R'eactivig," and indicates the order of severity numericallv " hv " five divisions ranging - - from "4" indicating a severe hazard, to "0" indicating no unusual hazard. his simple categorization is enhanced by the arrangement of the symbols to form a diamond divided into four quadrants. The left quadrant is always blue and refers to "Health, the top is always red and refers to "Reactivity." The bottom quadrant is used to indicate unusual reactivity of the material with water. I t is alsoused to indicate other additional information such as radioactivity, proper fire-extinguishing agent, or protective equipment required in case of fire or other emergency. When Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, "to assure safe and healthful working conditions for workine men and women", the Secretary of Labor wasgiven the rrsponsibility tor implementing the Act. In addition, the Secretary was also directed to prescribe the use of lab
Journal of Chemical Education
and ranking chemical hazards. Labels, material safety data sheets and employee training programs were also prescribed. On November 25,1983, OSHA issued a new final standard entitled "Hazard Communications" (29 CFR 1910.1200), which is commonly called the "Right-to-Know" law.3 This Hazard Communication Standard requires manufacturers, importers, and distributors of chemicals to determine and to transmit in writing to the purchaser, by November 25,1985, all the hazards of the chekical products leaving a workplace. The required written material is in the form of labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS). The standard also requires, by May 25,1986, employers to communicate to their employees the known hazards of all the chemicals in the work areas to which they might be exposed routinely or accidentallv. The basic elements in the Federal Hazard Communication Standard include chemical inventory, collecting and cross-checking of MSDS's, labeling, informing employees of their rights snd the company's duties, recordkeeping and training. The term "label" in the Hazard Communication Standard means anv written, printed, or erauhic material displayed on or affixedto containers of hazardous chemicals. ~ i p i e a l l ya, lahel should movide information on what the product is, what it does,how to use it, how not to use it, and how to dispose of it, what t o do if a fire, or a spill or leak occurs, and first aid when appropriate. Labels must he legible, in English, and prominently displayed. Hazard information may also be in a foreign language where appropriate as long as the information is presented in Enelish as well. In anticipatiun uf the effrctive dates of the Hazard Communication Standard. severnl modified ANSI adiunct labeling systems have appeared recently in the market. They are: the J.T. Baker Chemical Company SAF-T-DATA Svstem, the Fisher Scientific ~ o m ~ a n i ~ h & n ~System, l e r t and the Mallinckrodt LabGuard System. The J.T. Baker Chemical Company SAF-T-DATA system is a pictorial, numerical, and color system for hazard identification, precautionary measure description, and storage recommendation. Compatible products are labelled with the same color: blue for health hazard and should be stored in a secure poison area, red for flammahle hazard and should he stored in a flammable liquid storage area, yellow for reactivity hazard and should he stored separately and away from flammable or combustible materials, white for corrosive hazard and should be stored in a corrosion-proof area, and orange for substances with no rating higher than "2" in any hazard category and can be stored in a general chemical storage area. Incompatible materials of the same color class ha\fediaaonsllv striped labels. These materials should not br stored adjacrnt t u uther mnteriais with thr same cnlored lnlwls. I'roner itoraee for striued Inbels must he indit,iduallv assessed. For example, flammahle liquids carry a solid red lahel whereas sodium metal has a red-and-white-striped label. Oxidizing agents carry a yellow label whereas reducing aeents carrv a vellow-and-white-strived label. Strong acids carry a white libel (Fig. 1) whereas h k e s carry a w h i t k n d gray-striped label (Fig. 2). The Fisher Scientific Company ChemAlert System uses the NFPA system. This Fisher ChemAlert Guide appears as an extension and addition of the traditional lahel on all Fisher Scientific Company chemicals. It contains a threepart or a three-"code" format: a storage code, a NFPA hazard code, and a safety code. The storage code aooears as a vertical color bar between the traditional label on' the left and the NFPA hazard code and the safety code on the right. While the storage code color
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National Fire Protection Assoc., Banerymarch Park, Ouincy. MA 02269.
Federal Register 1983, 48(228). 53280 (Nov. 25, 1983).
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in thissystem is similar to other systems: red for flammables, blue for toxics, yellow for reactives, and white for corrosives, it also incorporates a slightly different color scheme. Gray represents no more than moderate hazards and can be stored in a general chemical storage area. A " h a n d sign with the word "stop" indicates that the chemical is incompatible with other chemicals of the same color bar and should be stored separately (Fig. 3). The Mallinckrodt LahGuard System label is divided into
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Journal of Chemical Education
a top half and a bottom half. The top half contains the identity of the chemical and its certificate of lot analysis, which appears on the right side of the traditional label. The bottom half contains the ANSI system superimposed in a bright color hand that is coded to indicate the type of hazard and storage recommendation (Fig. 4). The need for informative labeling has long been recognized by federal, state, and local governments, chemical industry, organized labor, and society at large.
