OSHA proposes update to hazard communication standard

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday proposed a rule to update its hazard communication standard.

The proposed rule would modify the standard to align it with the seventh revision of OSHA’s global harmonized system of classification and labeling of chemicals, known as GHS.

OSHA’s hazard communication standard, established in 1983, created a standardized approach to communicating workplace hazards associated with hazardous chemicals and the classification of those chemicals.

The agency said the standard update will increase worker protections and reduce the incidence of chemical-related occupational illnesses and injuries by improving labeling and hazardous chemical safety data information. The proposed rule would also improve the standard’s alignment with other federal agency communication standards and Canada’s standards.

Comments on the proposed rule are being accepted through April 19, 2021, on the federal e-rulemaking portal.