Meg Osterby

Lead Chemistry Instructor

Western Technical College

400 7th St. N.

LaCrosse, WI 54601

osterbym**At_Symbol_Here**westerntc.edu

608-789-4714

"It's  better to be careful 100 times, than to be killed once." 

                                                    Mark Twain

Under the HCS (29 CFR 1910.1200, the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard), https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10099

I read the above to indicate that for consumer products, no GHS labeling is required.  So you as long as you keep the stuff in the original packaging and labels, you're fine.

However, when you get to the SDS, there's a fly in the ointment:

And that's the phrase "for the purpose intended by the chemical manufacturer…"  Which is where your consultant is getting hung up on.  And (s)he's missing the forest for the trees.   Consumer product of not is not a litmus test for SDS's, it's whether or not the material is hazardous under the OSHA definition.

Under the OSHA definition of hazardous, food items such as hot dogs, potato chips and soda are going to be non-hazardous.  They have no SDS and you would not be required to have SDS for them.  Labeling provisions of the HCS would also not apply. 

However, some consumer products are indeed hazardous, and if you use such products in a non-consumer fashion, then an SDS is required.  The classic example is Windex - there is no need for an SDS on Windex if you use it in your office to clean your window as often as a regular consumer would at home.  However, if it is your job to clean windows all day, then an SDS is required.

You will find that SDS's for these hazardous products already exist are relatively easy to obtain.   The Works certainly has one, along with Windex, WD-40, Wite-out and a host of other products.  You can usually get these off the manufacturer's web sites.  Some quick examples:

            https://www.pg.com/productsafety/search_results.php?searchtext=Cascade&category=msds&submit=Search

            http://www.theworkscleans.com/toiletcleaner.html (click on MSDS link)

            http://www.scjohnson.com/en/products/msds.aspx

            http://www.officedepot.com/pdf/msds/903598.pdf  (do people use this anymore?)

I would err on the side of enforcement caution and consistency and consider adding GHS labeling to consumer products which do have SDS's - just be sure not to obscure the manufacturer's labels in the process.

Best wishes,

Rob Toreki

 ======================================================

Hello all,

 

Our safety consultant has been told that in the State of WI, one needs to have SDS sheets and GHS labels for household products, whether food or not, that are used in chemical experiments.  I’m hoping she’s wrong, since we analyze cattle feeds (soy, corn, alfalfa, and mixed grains) for our agribusiness students, hotdogs for our bioorganic students, as well as egg white, milk, etc. also for them, and a whole slew of foods, cleaners, and personal hygiene products, which we measure the pH of, for our general chemistry courses.  According to the consultant, if we are using a product for other than its intended use, in a lab, we have to have it properly labelled, and have to have SDS’s. 

 

I am aware that most colleges and universities in the US are exempt from many of the OSHA, and GHS provisions, but here in WI, the technical college system is governed by the DPI, ultimately, and their documents pertaining to these issues, state that all schools in WI, under the DPI, must follow federal OSHA and other chemical regulatory bodies rules.  So, while my husband works at a State 4 year University, and has to do none of this, I’m at a Technical College, and have to.

 

I’m working on it this year, because the College is undergoing some renovations, that will make it impossible to do next year.

 

So, my question is this: If I’m supposed to properly label according to GHS, and have SDS sheets for everything I use in labs, how do I get them?  I’m fairly sure you can’t look up an SDS or MSDS for Oscar Meyer beef franks, for instance, or for Gillette Men’s Gel Deodorant, or for 7-Up, so what do I do?  Do I just make (relatively useless) labels saying they are harmless?  If so, then what about measuring the pH of Cascade liquid, or The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner?  That’s proprietary, and they’re not going to want to give me the SDS, right? And yet, the Cascade is pH higher than 14, and the Works less than 0.   And while soda pop (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7-Up) can ruin a car finish, they are generally considered harmless.

 

I am definitely getting the idea of why this isn’t done by most states for their schools.   This is really a difficult project I’m trying to get done.

 

Any helpful info the list can give me, would be appreciated.  It is okay to respond to me directly.

 

Thanks much,

Meg

Meg Osterby

Lead Chemistry Instructor

Western Technical College

400 7th St. N.

LaCrosse, WI 54601

osterbym**At_Symbol_Here**westerntc.edu

608-789-4714

 

"It's  better to be careful 100 times, than to be killed once." 

                                                    Mark Twain