The purpose of the Hazard Communication Standard Program is to inform your employees about the hazardous substances you may have in the workplace. It helps identify the potential harmful effects of these substances and appropriate control measures. The tools used in this program are warning labels, MSDS sheets and of course employee training.

This program is just a standard which means you can adapt the rules of it to fit the needs of your workplace, but that also means that you will have the responsibility of implemeting it in the approprate manner to have an effective program.

Employers that actually use hazardous chemicals and by use this means your employees package, handle, react, or transfer the hazardous chemicals, must have a program in place to make sure that the information is provided to the exposed employees.

If  your workplace has employees that are exposed to hazardous chemicals you  must have a written plan that describes how the standard will be implemented in your facility. Your written program must show what employees are doing in a particular workplace, it must list the chemicals present at the site, indicate who is responsible for the  program in the facility and where written materials will be made available to employees. The program must also describe how the requirements for labels and other forms of warning, MSDS sheets and employee information and training are going to be met in your facility.

Your employees must be trained on the Hazard Communication program requirements which include:

1. A overview of the requirements contained in the Hazard Communication Rule
2. Location of the written hazard communication program
3. How to read labels and review MSDS sheets
4. Chemicals present in their workplace
5. Physical and health effects of the chemicals
6. Methods used to determine the presence or release of hazardous chemicals in the workplace
7. How to reduce or prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals
8. Safety procedures to follow if the employee is exposed to chemicals
9. Steps the workplace has taken to prevent exposure to chemicals

HAZARD COMMUNICATION STANDARD Fact Sheet No. OSHA 93-26

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