scope:

This standard establishes guidelines for the preparation of precautionary information on hazardous chemicals, as defined herein, which are placed on container labels intended for industrial use. It also defines criteria necessary for assessing hazards that determine which, if any, precautionary information should be placed on the label and other forms of labeling. Labeling includes container labels and other documents that contain precautionary and hazard communication information, such as product literature, technical brochures, and material safety data sheets (MSDSs). The standard must be applied in a manner consistent with all statutory and regulatory requirements, such as OSHA's Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) and substance specific standards (29 CFR 1910.1001-1052). In addition, there are use-specific statutory and regulatory requirements for consumer, medical and pesticide products, as well as, materials in transportation. It is not the intent of the standard to substitute for these requirements, or to list each and every unique requirement.(Footnote 3)

Footnote 3 - US federal statutes and regulations affecting the labeling of chemical materials also include the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA); Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA); and the Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations. There are others that may apply as well. State and local government also regulate labeling through statutes, including right-to-know laws.

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to provide guidance for the preparation of precautionary information on container labels of hazardous industrial chemicals as well as other documents that contain precautionary and hazard communication information. The standard is based on several general principles. Foremost, labels shall provide sufficient information for the safe handling of the applicable chemical, but are not intended to include all information on the properties and hazards of the chemical or the complete details of its handling under all conditions. The precautionary information should be based on the inherent properties of the chemical and include recommendations on how to avoid potentially hazardous exposures resulting from customary and reasonably foreseeable occupational use, misuse, handling and storage. Second, the precautionary information should neither overstate nor minimize the hazards or precautions for the chemical. Many chemicals are not inherently hazardous and do not present a potential for harm in customary or reasonably foreseeable occupational use, misuse, handling and storage. For these chemicals, precautionary labeling may be unnecessary.

Application

The standard is applicable to container labels as well as other forms of hazard communication. As noted above (see Purpose), container labels are not intended to include all detailed precautionary information on a hazardous chemical. Additional information may be more appropriately provided through other forms of labeling and accompanying literature, such as MSDSs, technical brochures, training materials, process standards, and other communications. A common approach for assessing the hazards of the chemical must be used. The precautionary information in these communications will not necessarily be identical, but must