Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 105 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH › Title 105 CMR 670.000 - "Right To Know" › Section 670.025 - Physician's Access to Material Safety Data Sheets

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(A)
Introduction
.
			 105 CMR 670.025 governs the manner in which physicians and other medical
			 personnel may obtain and use Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) pursuant to
			 the provisions of M.G.L. c. 111F, § 20. Under M.G.L. c. 111F, § 20 an
			 employer or manufacturer is required, under certain circumstances described in
			 105 CMR 670.025(B) and (C), to provide an MSDS or MSDS's immediately on a
			 confidential basis to a physician who states in writing that his or her patient
			 has a medical condition which may be the result of exposure to a toxic or
			 hazardous substance manufactured by the manufacturer and/or processed, used or
			 stored by the employer. The physician is then required to sign a
			 confidentiality agreement on a form prescribed by the Commissioner.
The provisions of 105 CMR 670.025 apply only with respect to
				patients who are or become employees or community residents as defined in
				105 CMR 670.005, on
				or after the effective date of M.G.L. c. 111F.
Nothing in M.G.L. c. 111F or in
				105
				CMR 670.000 shall prevent an employer or manufacturer
				from voluntarily providing MSDS's to a physician or any other person.
An employer is not required to include, on an MSDS provided to
				a designated representative, the identity of the substance if the Commissioner
				or his designee has determined pursuant to
				105 CMR 670.020
				that the identity of the substance is a trade secret of the preparer of the
				MSDS. A physician who is a designated representative and who seeks an MSDS
				without such trade secret identity is not required to comply with the
				procedures specified in 105 CMR 670.025.
105 CMR 670.025(B), applies to the situation in which the
				patient for whose treatment or care MSDS information is sought is a former
				employee who may have been exposed to toxic or hazardous substances in the
				workplace. 105 CMR 670.025(C), applies to the situation in which the patient is
				a resident of the municipality in which a workplace is or was located which may
				have been the source of the patient's exposure. 105 CMR 670.025(D) and (E),
				contain additional provisions which apply to both situations.
(B)
The Patient is a Former
			 Employee
. An employer or manufacturer who has manufactured,
			 processed, used or stored a substance listed on the Massachusetts Substance
			 List shall provide immediately on request an MSDS for such substance to a
			 physician treating a former employee of said employer or manufacturer. The MSDS
			 shall include the name of the substance even if the Commissioner has determined
			 that the identity of the substance is a trade secret. However, an employer who
			 is not the preparer of the MSDS shall not be required to include a trade secret
			 name which the employer does not know. The employer or manufacturer shall
			 include with the MSDS or MSDS's which it provides a copy of the Physician's
			 Confidentiality Agreement for the physician to sign and return pursuant to 105
			 CMR 670.025(E).
(C)
The
			 Patient is a Community Resident
.
(1) An employer or manufacturer who has
			 manufactured, processed, used or stored a substance listed on the Massachusetts
			 Substance List shall provide immediately on request an MSDS for such substance
			 to a physician treating a resident of the municipality in which the employer's
			 workplace is or was located. If the physician signs the emergency statement as
			 set forth in 105 CMR 670.025(C)(2), then the MSDS shall include the name of the
			 substance even if the Commissioner has determined that the identity of the
			 substance is a trade secret. However, an employer who is not the preparer of
			 the MSDS shall not be required to include a trade secret name which is not
			 included on the MSDS. The employer or manufacturer shall include with the MSDS
			 or MSDS's which it provides a copy of the Physician's Confidentiality Agreement
			 for the physician to sign and return pursuant to 105 CMR 670.025(E).
(2) To obtain the name of a substance which
			 the Commissioner has determined is a trade secret of the preparer of the MSDS,
			 a physician treating a community resident shall include in the physician's
			 statement required by 105 CMR 670.025(D), a statement that the patient has a
			 serious medical condition which poses an imminent threat to the patient's
			 health and which requires immediate treatment by a physician.