Toolbox Talk

The Hazard Communication Program and Your Right to Know

Hazard Communication, 29 CFR 1910.1200, used to be called the "right-to-know" rule for a reason. You have a legal right to know what chemicals you're exposed to and how to protect yourself. Your employer has a legal duty to tell you — in a language and way you understand — before the exposure, not after.

The Written Program

Every site that has hazardous chemicals needs a written hazard communication program under 1910.1200(e). It's not just paperwork sitting in a trailer. It has to spell out:

A list of the hazardous chemicals known to be on site.
How containers get labeled.
How Safety Data Sheets are kept and how you get to them.
How workers are trained.
On a multi-employer site, how the contractors share hazard info and SDSs with each other's crews.

Training You Must Get

Training happens at your initial assignment and again whenever a new hazard is introduced — a new product, a new task. Under 1910.1200(h) it has to cover how to read labels and SDSs, the physical and health hazards of the chemicals in your area, how to detect a release, and the controls and PPE that protect you.

If you can't answer "what's in this, what can it do to me, and how do I stay safe" for the chemicals you handle, the training wasn't done right. Speak up.

Getting to the Information

SDSs have to be readily accessible to you on your shift — a binder in the trailer, a tablet, a posted phone number to a 24-hour service. "Readily accessible" means without asking permission and without delay. If you can't find the sheet for something you're using, stop and get it before you keep working.

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