New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 59 - WORKER AND COMMUNITY RIGHT TO KNOW ACT RULES › Subchapter 5 - LABELING CONTAINERS › Section 8:59-5.1 - General provisions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The labeling provisions of this subchapter
				apply to public employers as defined in
				8:59-1.3 and private employers as
				defined in 8:59-11.3.
(b) Every container at an employer's facility in
				which more than one percent of the contents of the container are unknown shall bear
				a label stating "Contents Unknown" or "Contents Partially Unknown," as appropriate,
				in addition to other labeling required under this subchapter.
(c) Every container at an employer's facility
				shall bear a label indicating the chemical name and Chemical Abstracts Service
				number of all hazardous substances in the container, and all other substances which
				are among the five most predominant substances in the container, or the trade secret
				registry number assigned to the substance. This is commonly referred to as
				"universal labeling." Common names specified in
				8:59-5.7 may be substituted for the
				chemical name of the substance. If an employer does not know the chemical name and
				Chemical Abstracts Service number of the components in a container, it shall make a
				good faith effort to obtain this information from the manufacturer or supplier. A
				good faith effort shall consist of two contacts by letter and/or documented phone
				call to the manufacturer or supplier. The employer shall maintain this written
				documentation of its good faith effort.
(d) Labels shall be affixed to containers before
				containers are opened or within five working days of the container's arrival at the
				facility, whichever is sooner. No employer shall use the contents of a container
				unless the container is appropriately labeled. In warehouses, storage or transfer
				facilities associated with employers covered by this Act, where containers are not
				opened, labeling required by or consistent with United States Department of
				Transportation requirements at
49 CFR
				172.101
may be used.
(e) Laboratories or other facilities that receive
				containers with unknown materials or old pressurized gas cylinders with unknown
				contents for analysis of the contents shall label the containers as substances are
				identified. In the interim period until the contents are identified, these
				containers shall be labeled in accordance with (b) above.
(f) Containers of materials, of which the employer
				does not know the contents and the manufacturer is unknown or no longer in business,
				shall be labeled pursuant to the Act or the Federal Resource Conservation and
				Recovery Act. The employer shall be responsible for determining the components of
				the container and attaching appropriate labeling.
(g) When an employer receives information that
				allows it to identify the chemical name and Chemical Abstracts Service number of the
				components of any product in its facility, it shall label the appropriate containers
				pursuant to (c), (d) and (e) above within five working days of receiving this
				information.
(h) Reaction vessels are
				containers in which reaction or mixing takes place which do not meet the definition
				of process container. Reaction vessels shall contain labels which identify the
				substances which are added to the vessel and removed from the vessel. These labels
				may be placed on an adjoining wall or post in close proximity to the reaction
				vessel. Batch sheets or operating manuals which contain the information required for
				labeling in 8:59-5.1(a), (b), and
				(c) may be placed on an adjoining wall or post in
				close proximity to the reaction vessel to meet the requirement of this
				section.
(i) Containers that are 56.7
				grams (two ounces) or smaller may be labeled by means of a code or number system if
				the code or number system will allow a public employee or emergency responder free
				and ready access at all times to a fact sheet that will provide the public employee
				or emergency responder with the chemical name or common name permitted by
8:59-5.7
, and CAS number of the substance contained in the
				container, or the trade secret registry number assigned to the substance and, in the
				case of a public employee, allow access to this information without the permission
				or assistance of management, and be available to the public employee at close
				proximity to the employee's specific job location or locations.
(j) An employer shall not be precluded from
				including on a label an appropriate hazard warning and the name and address of the
				substance manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.
(k) Employers shall not remove or deface labels on
				incoming containers of substances, unless the container is immediately marked with
				the information required by this subchapter.
(l) Public employers that operate prisons or jails
				and believe that container labeling will constitute a security risk at the
				institution may request a waiver of the labeling requirements of this subchapter.
				The waiver shall ensure that the employees of the public employer receive all of the
				information about hazardous and other substances in containers to which they are
				entitled under the Act, although in a modified manner.
(m) In warehouses, storage and transfer facilities
				where containers are delivered stacked on skids, the containers remain on the skid
				until they are shipped out of the warehouse, storage or transfer facility, and it is
				not possible to get to all the containers without breaking down the skid, only those
				containers on the outside face of the skid and within reach of an employee need to
				be labeled in accordance with this subchapter. If the skid is shrink-wrapped, labels
				must be placed on the shrink-wrap on all four sides of the skid. If unlabeled
				containers are removed from the skid, they shall be immediately labeled.
(n) Containers that are packed within properly
				labeled larger containers need not be labeled in accordance with this subchapter
				until they are removed from the larger container.
(o) Retains are samples of products, raw
				materials, and intermediates that are stored by an employer for quality control and
				historical purposes. In the area such as a room, cabinet, or shelves where retains
				are stored, the labeling information required by this subchapter may be placed on a
				shelf or on a box that contains one or more retain samples. Retains that are removed
				from the storage area shall be labeled with the same labeling information that
				appears on the box or shelf. The labeling threshold based on container size set
				forth in 8:59-5.6 shall apply to retain sample
				containers.
(p) Batch samples are
				samples of product that are taken to a laboratory for quality control testing and
				that are tested during or after the batch operation. Batch samples may be labeled
				according to this subchapter by means of a label on a box or other container in
				which the sample is being held. Any samples that are removed from the laboratory
				shall contain labeling information as required by this subchapter. The labeling
				threshold based on container size set forth in
				8:59-5.6 shall apply to batch sample
				containers.
(q) Containers in which
				products are shipped into or out of a facility that are not direct use containers
				may be labeled pursuant to the requirements of the United States Department of
				Transportation (USDOT) for hazardous materials being shipped. This requirement would
				require product or chemical name and hazard classification on the label if the
				product is hazardous and meets a minimum threshold. If USDOT regulations do not
				require a name or hazard classification on the shipping container, then none shall
				be required under this subchapter.