As you know the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), which means a new to-do list for many printers. Last time we told you about the EHS resources available even if you missed the initial training deadline of December 2013.  Here is a “Who, What, Why, When, and Where” overview to give you a clearer explanation of what you need to do and when to do it to remain in compliance. WHO Do These New Standards Affect? All printing operations are subject to the Hazard Communication Standard because of the use of chemicals such as inks, toners, cleaning solutions, etc. As a printing operation, you must provide information to your employees about the hazards associated with your chemicals, including how to work with them in a safe manner through labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), which are replacing the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and provide more detailed information in a uniform format. WHAT Actions Must My Company Take? The Hazard Communication Standard requires all employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces to: Prepare and implement a written hazard communication program. Develop a written inventory of products that contain hazardous chemicals. Obtain, maintain, and make available to employees SDSs for all products on the written inventory. Ensure all containers, including in-plant or secondary ones, are properly labeled. Conduct employee training. Due to the revisions made by OSHA to incorporate the GHS (the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling Chemicals), there are several changes printing operations need to make within the next two years to meet the new requirements. The main areas covered follow. Initial employee training to be completed by December 1, 2013. If you have not started training your employees yet or need help, see the training materials here (member login required). The deadline for revising  chemical container labels is December 1, 2015. The completely revised product label requirements mandate that specific information must be included on each label. These new requirements state that labels will now require all of the following: Product identifier Signal word Hazard statement(s) Pictogram(s) Precautionary statement(s) Supplier information For more information on the pictograms, see theSafety Poster – Pictograms Quick Reference. In-plant container labels also require special attention. The revised standards acknowledge the same secondary container rule: If an employee transfers a material from a labeled container to a secondary container, which is intended only for immediate use by that employee, and that employee understands the hazards associated with the material, then that container does not have to be labeled unless it is either stored for future use or passed to another employee.  One major change to the in-plant labeling system is to the Hazard Materials...

When it comes to the newly revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the countdown is on to comply with a long list of important new requirements—which means, yes, more acronyms! The new requirements started with mandatory employee training that had to be completed in December 2013, and the remaining requirements will be phased in over the next several years with the final deadline in June 2016. OSHA has adopted the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling Chemicals (GHS), and as a result there are significant changes that all employees need to know about. If you’ve missed the initial training deadline, don’t panic! Our EHS department has published a number of resources to assist members with complying, including a concise training video covering the topics required in the initial training and a customizable PowerPoint presentation for a more in-depth training session. To help make this a more streamlined process, we’ve put together the “Who, What, Why, When, and Where” of OSHA’s Hazard Communication requirements to give you a clear explanation of what you need to do and when to do it to remain in compliance. There is also a dedicated members-only webpage to help our industry members through this process. You’ll find a free online guide full of critical information, sample program material, forms, and more downloadable tools. Now is the time to prepare your operation and start making the required changes. For more information on the steps you need to take to remain in compliance, look at part two of this story...

When it comes to the newly revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the countdown is on to comply with a long list of important new requirements—which means, yes, more acronyms! The new requirements started with mandatory employee training that had to be completed in December 2013, and the remaining requirements will be phased in over the next several years with the final deadline in June 2016. OSHA has adopted the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling Chemicals (GHS), and as a result there are significant changes that all employees need to know about. If you’ve missed the initial training deadline, don’t panic! Our EHS department has published a number of resources to assist members with complying, including a concise training video covering the topics required in the initial training and a customizable PowerPoint presentation for a more in-depth training session. To help make this a more streamlined process, we’ve put together the “Who, What, Why, When, and Where” of OSHA’s Hazard Communication requirements to give you a clear explanation of what you need to do and when to do it to remain in compliance. There is also a dedicated members-only webpage to help our industry members through this process. You’ll find a free online guide full of critical information, sample program material, forms, and more downloadable tools. Now is the time to prepare your operation and start making the required changes. For more information on the steps you need to take to remain in compliance, look at part two of this story...

Is your company in compliance with EPA and OSHA regulations, including employee Hazard Communication training required by December 1, 2013? Are you meeting your customers’ demands for sustainable printing and following the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Green Guides for marketing claims? There are many printing operations unaware of their basic environmental and safety requirements, which can lead to thousands of dollars in fines! Making general environmental claims has become much more difficult, and the FTC has taken enforcement actions against companies that are not following their new guides.   Your best bet is to learn and understand your risk and be proactive. The Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) department at Printing Industries of America is committed to helping our industry members stay in compliance and improve their operations. This renowned EHS team of experts provides training and consulting for many printing operations, assisting them with understanding and meeting compliance requirements, as well as uncovering opportunities to save money. Plus, since they work with federal and state agencies on the actual rules representing the interests of the printing industry, they know the regulations and can provide concrete advice on how to avoid high fines and other devastating blows to your business. Focusing on Your Top Issues To avoid risking expensive resources and business, you need to ensure your company maintains regulatory compliance, and the EHS staff is here to help. To give you an idea of what kind of issues they resolve, here are some common EHS dilemmas they can assist you with:* 1. What type of air permit do you need to run sheetfed or digital presses? Regardless of the type of press being operated, air pollutants are emitted as a result of the inks, coatings, fountain solutions, and cleaning solutions. All printing presses and printing operations can emit air pollutants which may require air pollution control permits. Every state/local permitting authority has a permit threshold, and they can be based on emissions, material use, or press size. For assistance in determining air emissions from your operation, contact the EHS department today! 2. Why does OSHA require older equipment to be guarded to current standards? Older equipment has never been “grandfathered” by OSHA. Under the OSHA guarding regulations, all equipment, regardless of when it was built, must have all hazard areas properly guarded. It is not the responsibility of the equipment manufacturer to ensure that equipment meets OSHA’s machine guarding standards. For more information on machine guarding requirements, review our OSHA Primer (free to members) and What you Need to Know for Safe Equipment Operation Guide. 3. What are the requirements for making “green and sustainability” claims? Being “green and sustainable” is more than a single action or only promoting and...

Is your company in compliance with EPA and OSHA regulations, including employee Hazard Communication training required by December 1, 2013? Are you meeting your customers’ demands for sustainable printing and following the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Green Guides for marketing claims? There are many printing operations unaware of their basic environmental and safety requirements, which can lead to thousands of dollars in fines! Making general environmental claims has become much more difficult, and the FTC has taken enforcement actions against companies that are not following their new guides.   Your best bet is to learn and understand your risk and be proactive. The Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) department at Printing Industries of America is committed to helping our industry members stay in compliance and improve their operations. This renowned EHS team of experts provides training and consulting for many printing operations, assisting them with understanding and meeting compliance requirements, as well as uncovering opportunities to save money. Plus, since they work with federal and state agencies on the actual rules representing the interests of the printing industry, they know the regulations and can provide concrete advice on how to avoid high fines and other devastating blows to your business. Focusing on Your Top Issues To avoid risking expensive resources and business, you need to ensure your company maintains regulatory compliance, and the EHS staff is here to help. To give you an idea of what kind of issues they resolve, here are some common EHS dilemmas they can assist you with:* 1. What type of air permit do you need to run sheetfed or digital presses? Regardless of the type of press being operated, air pollutants are emitted as a result of the inks, coatings, fountain solutions, and cleaning solutions. All printing presses and printing operations can emit air pollutants which may require air pollution control permits. Every state/local permitting authority has a permit threshold, and they can be based on emissions, material use, or press size. For assistance in determining air emissions from your operation, contact the EHS department today! 2. Why does OSHA require older equipment to be guarded to current standards? Older equipment has never been “grandfathered” by OSHA. Under the OSHA guarding regulations, all equipment, regardless of when it was built, must have all hazard areas properly guarded. It is not the responsibility of the equipment manufacturer to ensure that equipment meets OSHA’s machine guarding standards. For more information on machine guarding requirements, review our OSHA Primer (free to members) and What you Need to Know for Safe Equipment Operation Guide. 3. What are the requirements for making “green and sustainability” claims? Being “green and sustainable” is more than a single action or only promoting and...

Not only is it a smart idea to make sure every employee is informed of chemical hazards in the workplace, it’s also the law! Many of us in the printing industry work with chemicals and materials on a daily basis, and under the Hazard Communication Standard, OSHA requires printing companies to identify hazardous chemicals and provide training to ensure that employees are working with these chemicals in a safe manner. OSHA has made significant revisions to the Hazard Communication Standard, including replacing the Material Safety Data Sheet with the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). In response, we are making available to all members “need to know” information to stay in compliance with the new requirements and free tools to implement a Hazard Communication program to meet them. If you’re familiar with the Safety—Know It, Live It poster series,you know these popular resources function as straightforward visual references to guides for employees providing critical safety information while they work. We’ve just added two new posters to the series, “Get to Know the Safety Data Sheet” and “Globally Harmonized System of Classification (GHS) Pictograms Quick Reference.” Let’s dive deeper into the details of the new Safety Data Sheet (SDS) represented in the “Get to Know the Safety Data Sheet” poster. The “Get to Know the Safety Data Sheet” poster provides employees with a reference for what information can be found on an SDS and where to look for it. Let’s look at some important facts about the revised Standard and new SDSs: Safety Data Sheets are replacing Material Safety Data Sheets, and now have a mandatory uniform 16-section format. Manufacturers and suppliers of chemicals are required to determine what hazards could be presented by their product, and they must inform you about those hazards on labels and SDSs. Employers are required obtain an SDS for every hazardous chemical employees work with and to maintain them so they can be accessed. On the SDS, you can find information on a variety of topics about the product, including physical and chemical properties, personal protection, handling, storage procedures, first aid procedures, and health effects in the event of exposure. The safety posters are designed to be displayed in employee break rooms or in other common areas to reinforce key safety messages. Posters can also be placed near equipment, along production lines, or at entrances to production areas. There are also new labeling procedures in the revised Standard which require that all labels must include a Product Identifier, Signal Word (such as DANGER), Hazard Statement, Pictogram, Precautionary Statement, and manufacturer contact information. Employees must receive initial training on the new SDS and labeling requirements by December 1, 2013. For more information on the new Hazard Communication...