What is Hazard Communication?

Chemicals pose a wide range of health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, and carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (such as flammability, corrosion, and reactivity). OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is designed to ensure that information about these hazards and associated protective measures is disseminated. This is accomplished by requiring chemical manufacturers and importers to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and to provide information about them through labels on shipped containers and more detailed information sheets called material safety data sheets (MSDSs). All employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must prepare and implement a written hazard communication program, and must ensure that all containers are labeled, employees are provided access to MSDSs, and an effective training program is conducted for all potentially exposed employees.

The HCS provides people the right-to-know the hazards and identities of the chemicals they are exposed to in the workplace. When employees have this information, they may effectively participate in their employers’ protective programs and take steps to protect themselves. In addition, the standard gives employers the information they need to design and implement an effective protective program for employees potentially exposed to hazardous chemicals. Together these actions will result in a reduction of chemical source illnesses and injuries in American workplaces. 

• Frequently Asked Questions: Hazard Communication (HAZCOM). OSHA. Provides answers to frequently asked questions, and references applicable interpretation and compliance letters.
• Hazard Communication Standard. OSHA Fact Sheet 93-26, (1993, January). Provides a summary of the HCS standard which applies to all workers exposed to hazardous chemicals in all industrial sectors.
• Hazard Communication Guidelines for Compliance. OSHA Publication 3111, (2000). Also available as a 112 KB PDF, 33 pages. Aids employers in understanding the Hazard Communication Standard and in implementing a hazard communication program.
• Chemical Hazard Communication. OSHA Publication 3084, (1998). Also available as a 248 KB PDF, 31 pages. Answers several basic questions about chemical hazard communication.
• Report of the Hazard Communication Workgroup to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). OSHA, (1996, September 12). Contains comments and recommendations concerning hazard communication.