OSHA’s Hazard Communication Deadline Arrives for Employers on November 20
Employers that use hazardous chemicals face a November 20, 2026 deadline to update, as necessary, their workplace labeling, written hazard communication programs, and employee training for the chemical substances they handle. The obligation flows from OSHA’s 2024 revision of the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200, and the compliance phase for substances is now […]
Union Says EPA’s New Chemicals Rule Fails Transparency Mandate Under TSCA
EPA’s 2024 new chemicals procedural rule fails to satisfy Congress’s intent that Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) new chemical and significant new use reviews be transparent, a workers union told the Ninth Circuit on October 16, 2025. In its opening brief, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) cites its own experience […]
EPA and OSHA Reach TSCA Section 6 Information Sharing Agreement
On January 13, 2025, EPA and OSHA released a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) governing the agencies’ coordination on “existing chemical substances that are subject to prioritization, risk evaluation, and risk management by EPA under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).” The MOU provides for regularly scheduled updates between the agencies on […]
OSHA Revises Hazard Communication Standard
On May 20, 2024, OSHA published a final rule revising the Agency’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), which requires that workers be informed of chemical hazards. The rule aligns the HCS with Revision 7 (Rev. 7) of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), which is updated biennially by the United Nations. […]
Amendments to SNUR Requirements
On July 5, 2022, EPA finalized the rule Significant New Uses of Chemical Substances; Updates to the Hazard Communication Program and Regulatory Framework; Minor Amendments to Reporting Requirements for Premanufacture Notices (87 FR 39756). EPA made changes to SNUR requirements in the following sections 40 CFR §§ 721.11, 721.63, 721.72, and 721.91. In addition, the […]
OSHA Proposes Revisions to Hazard Communication Standard
On February 15, 2021, OSHA posted a notice of proposed rulemaking to make changes to the Hazard Communication Standard. The proposed changes include updates the criteria for classification on health and physical hazard, updating labels, new labeling provisions for small containers, technical amendments for the contents of safety data sheets, and revisions to definitions of […]
EPA proposes updates to SNUR regulations on workplace protection and hazard communication.
On July 28, EPA published a proposed rule updating the Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) regulations, which implement section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In announcing the proposal, EPA emphasized the need to harmonize regulations based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for respiratory protection and hazard communication, which have both […]
OSHA releases Hazard Communication Standard inspection procedures.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new Directive outlining the changes in enforcement caused by the modification of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS 2012) to harmonize with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The new Directive, titled Inspection Procedures for […]
OSHA unveils web-based tools to protect workers from toxic chemical exposure.
Last week, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced two new web-based resources to help employers better protect workers from hazardous chemical exposures, even as the agency said its current mandatory workplace exposure limits are “dangerously out of date.” According to OSHA, hazardous chemicals are estimated to be the cause of more than […]
Final OSHA Rule Published on Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
GHS/HazCom: March 26, 2012, the Federal Register published OSHA’s final Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). With this rule OSHA has modified its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to be consistent with to the United Nations’ System. GHS Requirements OSHA estimates that 880,000 hazardous chemicals are currently used in the U.S., and […]