Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-901 - Globally harmonized system for hazard communication › Section 296-901-14006 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Article means a manufactured item other than a fluid
				or particle:
(1) Which is
			 formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture;
(2) Which has end use function(s)
			 dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end
			 use; and
(3) Which under
			 normal conditions of use does not release more than very small
			 quantities, e.g., minute or trace amounts of a hazardous chemical (as
			 determined under WAC
			 296-901-14008), and
			 does not pose a physical hazard or health risk to employees.
Chemical means any substance, or mixture of
				substances.
Chemical manufacturer means an employer with a
				workplace where chemical(s) are produced for use or
				distribution.
Chemical name means the scientific designation of a
				chemical the nomenclature system developed by the International Union
				of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) or the Chemical Abstracts
				Service (CAS) rules of nomenclature, or a name that will clearly
				identify the chemical for the purpose of conducting a hazard
				classification.
Classification means to identify the relevant data
				regarding the hazards of a chemical; review those data to ascertain
				the hazards associated with the chemical; and decide whether the
				chemical will be classified as hazardous according to the definition
				of hazardous chemical in this section. In addition, classification
				for health and physical hazards includes the determination of the
				degree of hazard, where appropriate, by comparing the data with the
				criteria for health and physical hazards.
Commercial account means an arrangement whereby a
				retail distributor sells hazardous chemicals to an employer,
				generally in large quantities over time and/or at costs that are
				below the regular retail price.
Common name means any designation or identification
				such as code name, code number, trade name, brand name or generic
				name used to identify a chemical other than by its chemical
				name.
Container means any bag, barrel, bottle, box, can,
				cylinder, drum, reaction vessel, storage tank, or the like that
				contains a hazardous chemical. For purposes of this section, pipes or
				piping systems, and engines, fuel tanks, or other operating systems
				in a vehicle, are not considered to be containers.
Designated representative means any individual or
				organization to whom an employee gives written authorization to
				exercise such employee's rights under this section. A recognized or
				certified collective bargaining agent must be treated automatically
				as a designated representative without regard to written employee
				authorization.
Distributor means a business, other than a chemical
				manufacturer or importer, which supplies hazardous chemicals to other
				distributors or to employers.
Employee is a person, as defined under
				RCW
				 49.17.020(5), who
				may be exposed to hazardous chemicals under normal operating
				conditions or in foreseeable emergencies. Employees such as office
				workers or bank tellers who encounter hazardous chemicals only in
				nonroutine, isolated instances are not covered.
Employer means an employer, as defined under
				RCW
				 49.17.020(4),
				engaged in a business where chemicals are either used, distributed,
				or are produced for use or distribution, including a contractor or
				subcontractor.
Exposure or exposed means that an employee is
				subjected in the course of employment to a chemical that is a
				physical or health hazard, and includes potential (e.g., accidental
				or possible) exposure. "Subjected" in terms of health hazards
				includes any route of entry (e.g., inhalation, ingestion, skin
				contact or absorption).
Foreseeable emergency means any potential occurrence
				such as, but not limited to, equipment failure, rupture of
				containers, or failure of control equipment which could result in an
				uncontrolled release of a hazardous chemical into the
				workplace.
Hazard category means the division of criteria within
				each hazard class, e.g., oral acute toxicity and flammable liquids
				include four hazard categories. These categories compare hazard
				severity within a hazard class and should not be taken as a
				comparison of hazard categories more generally.
Hazard class means the nature of the physical or
				health hazards, e.g., flammable solid, carcinogen, oral acute
				toxicity.
Hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC) means an
				adverse physical or health effect identified through evaluation of
				scientific evidence during the classification process that does not
				meet the specified criteria for the physical and health hazard
				classes addressed in this section. This does not extend coverage to
				adverse physical and health effects for which there is a hazard class
				addressed in this section, but the effect either falls below the
				cut-off value/concentration limit of the hazard class or is under a
				GHS hazard category that has not been adopted by OSHA (e.g., acute
				toxicity Category 5).
Hazard statement means a statement assigned to a
				hazard class and category that describes the nature of the hazard(s)
				of a chemical including, where appropriate, the degree of
				hazard.
Hazardous chemical means any chemical which is
				classified as a physical hazard or a health hazard, a simple
				asphyxiant, combustible dust, pyrophoric gas, or hazard not otherwise
				classified.
Health hazard means a chemical which is classified as
				posing one of the following hazardous effects: Acute toxicity (any
				route of exposure); skin corrosion or irritation; serious eye damage
				or eye irritation; respiratory or skin sensitization; germ cell
				mutagenicity; carcinogenicity; reproductive toxicity; specific target
				organ toxicity (single or repeated exposure); or aspiration hazard.
				The criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a
				health hazard are detailed in WAC
				296-901-14022, Appendix
				A-Health hazard criteria.
Immediate use means that the hazardous chemical will
				be under the control of and used only by the person who transfers it
				from a labeled container and only within the work shift in which it
				is transferred.
Importer means the first business with employees
				within the Customs Territory of the United States which receives
				hazardous chemicals produced in other countries for the purpose of
				supplying them to distributors or employers within the United
				States.
Label means an appropriate group of written, printed
				or graphic information elements concerning a hazardous chemical that
				is affixed to, printed on, or attached to the immediate container of
				a hazardous chemical, or to the outside packaging.
Label elements means the specified pictogram, hazard
				statement, signal word and precautionary statement for each hazard
				class and category.
Mixture means a combination or a solution composed of
				two or more substances in which they do not react.
Physical hazard means a chemical that is classified
				as posing one of the following hazardous effects: Explosive;
				flammable (gases, aerosols, liquids, or solids); oxidizer (liquid,
				solid or gas); self-reactive; pyrophoric (liquid or solid);
				self-heating; organic peroxide; corrosive to metal; gas under
				pressure; or in contact with water emits flammable gas. WAC
				296-901-14024, Appendix
				B-Physical hazard criteria.
Pictogram means a composition that may include a
				symbol plus other graphic elements, such as a border, background
				pattern, or color, that is intended to convey specific information
				about the hazards of a chemical. Eight pictograms are designated
				under this standard for application to a hazard category.
Precautionary statement means a phrase that describes
				recommended measures that should be taken to minimize or prevent
				adverse effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous chemical, or
				improper storage or handling.
Produce means to manufacture, process, formulate,
				blend, extract, generate, emit, or repackage.
Product identifier means the name or number used for
				a hazardous chemical on a label or in the SDS. It provides a unique
				means by which the user can identify the chemical. The product
				identifier used must permit cross-references to be made among the
				list of hazardous chemicals required in the written hazard
				communication program, the label and the SDS.
Pyrophoric gas means a chemical in a gaseous state
				that will ignite spontaneously in air at a temperature of 130 degrees
				F (54.4 degrees C) or below.
Responsible party means someone who can provide
				additional information on the hazardous chemical and appropriate
				emergency procedures, if necessary.
Safety data sheet (SDS) means written or printed
				material concerning a hazardous chemical that is prepared in
				accordance with WAC
				296-901-14014.
Signal word means a word used to indicate the
				relative level of severity of hazard and alert the reader to a
				potential hazard on the label. The signal words used in this section
				are "danger" and "warning." "Danger" is used for the more severe
				hazards, while "warning" is used for the less severe.
Simple asphyxiant means a substance or mixture that
				displaces oxygen in the ambient atmosphere, and can thus cause oxygen
				deprivation in those who are exposed, leading to unconsciousness and
				death.
Specific chemical identity means the chemical name,
				Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number, or any other
				information that reveals the precise chemical designation of the
				substance.
Substance means chemical elements and their compounds
				in the natural state or obtained by any production process, including
				any additive necessary to preserve the stability of the product and
				any impurities deriving from the process used, but excluding any
				solvent which may be separated without affecting the stability of the
				substance or changing its composition.
Trade secret means any confidential formula, pattern,
				process, device, information or compilation of information that is
				used in an employer's business, and that gives the employer an
				opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know
				or use it. WAC
				296-901-14030, Appendix
				E-Definition of "trade secret," sets out the criteria to be used in
				evaluating trade secrets.
Use means to package, handle, react, emit, extract,
				generate as a by-product, or transfer.
Work area means a room or defined space in a
				workplace where hazardous chemicals are produced or used, and where
				employees are present.
Workplace means an establishment, job site, or
				project, at one geographical location containing one or more work
				areas.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW  49.17.010,
				  49.17.040,
				  49.17.050,
				  49.17.060 and  29 C.F.R.
				  1910  Subpart Z. 13-06-050, § 296-901-14006, filed 3/5/13,
				  effective 4/15/13.