New OSHA Standard Impacts Processors

A revision to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard is expected to prevent 43 fatalities and 521 injuries and illnesses annually, with a net annualized savings of over $507 million a year.

One of the most significant changes in this revision is OSHA's adoption of the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The revised standard, which OSHA is calling HazCom 2012, is expected to affect every US workplace with exposure to hazardous chemicals. These changes will ultimately impact over five million facilities and over 40 million workers.

OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910.1200) was published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2012 (with an effective date of 60 days thereafter). An article by MAPP Corporate Partner Grainger details the history, unchanged provisions, major changes and effective dates for the new regulations. Read the full article at www.grainger.com.