December 28, 1994

Ms. Elizabeth L. Hay, Attorney
StarEnterprise
12700 Northborough Drive
Houston, Texas 77067

Dear Ms. Hay:

Thank you for your letter of March 11, concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), 29 CFR 1910.1200.

Your question requests a written interpretation to confirm that companies who send their employees to a service station to fill up company vehicles with motor fuel, pursuant to a fleet fueling account, do not constitute "commercial accounts" as defined in the amended HCS.

In response to your specific question, please refer to the February 9, 1994, Amendments to the Final Hazard Communication Rule (enclosed), where a definition was added for "commercial account".

"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."

In your example where employers such as Avis and Hertz have established a "fleet fuel account" with StarEnterprise, the "fleet fuel account" appears to be a "commercial account". Therefore, StarEnterprise must inform their commercial account holders that an MSDS for motor fuel is available, and shall provide the MSDS upon the company's request. Please bear in mind that this conclusion is based on the information you provided in your letter. Ultimately, compliance with an OSHA standard is determined by field staff in our Area Offices. We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please contact the Office of Health Compliance Assistance at (202) 219-8036.

Get signs to mark the location of hazardous chemicals as well as MSDS supplies at Safety Emporium.

Ruth E. McCully, Director Office of Health Compliance Assistance
Enclosure: Hazard Communication, Final Rule