EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

The East Tennessee State University Hazardous Chemical Right-To-Know Program is modeled after the Tennessee Hazardous Chemical Right-To-Know Law passed by the General Assembly on May 23, 1985. The Tennessee Right-To-Know Law was enacted because of expressed concern relative to the proliferation and variety of chemicals present in our society and their effect on the safety, health, and welfare of persons living and working in Tennessee.

 

The intent and purpose of East Tennessee State University's Right-To-Know Program is to provide necessary information that will enable university employees and students to become knowledgeable of the chemicals they work with and to which they may be exposed.

 

The university's Right-To-Know Program centers around the completion of the following steps:

1. Assigning an individual responsible for implementing the program in each department, clinic, or, if necessary, in each work area.

 

2. Making a list of all chemicals and by-products used, stored, or produced in each department, clinic, or area.

 

3. Obtaining a current Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each chemical, substance, or by-product listed.

 

4. Determining which chemicals, by-products, or substances are hazardous.

 

5. Preparing the Workplace Hazardous Chemical List.

 

6. Submitting the hazardous chemical list to the Health and Safety Office for compilation and submission to TOSHA. In order to meet the TOSHA suspense date of January 31, lists must be received by the Health and Safety Office no later than the 15th day of December each year.

 

7. Ensuring that all containers are properly labeled.

 

8. Training the employees.

 

 

The State of Tennessee Hazardous Chemical Right-To-Know Poster (Appendix C) will be the authorized means of informing employees about their rights under the Right-To-Know Law. The State of Tennessee Public Employee Safety and Health Protection On The Job Poster (Appendix D) informs employees of their rights under the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Law. These posters, available from the Health and Safety Office, must be displayed in a conspicuous location for each area.

All manufacturers and distributors supplying ETSU with products which contain hazardous chemicals, or are in themselves physical hazards, must provide the university with a Material Safety Data Sheet for that product. The Material Safety Data Sheet must be provided prior to, or with, the initial shipment of the product to the university. If an MSDS is updated, a copy must be forwarded with the first shipment after occurrence of that update. If a product is not considered hazardous, the supplier must provide a statement to that effect. If an MSDS is not shipped with the product or received within five (5) days, the department should request it in writing.

All containers of hazardous chemicals must be properly labeled, tagged, or marked. Proper labels should indicate the following:

If a university employee transfers a hazardous chemical from the original container to another container to be used by another employee, all label information on the original container must be reproduced to the new container. If not, the receiving employee is not required to work with the hazardous chemical. Containers of chemicals governed by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act, or the Tennessee Application of Pesticides Act, need only to be labeled with the common or chemical name.

If a university employee transfers a hazardous chemical from its original container to another container for their own use during the workday, the container does not have to be labeled. However, if the container is transferred to another employee during the work shift or to an employee on another work shift, then labeling requirements will apply.

The Health and Safety Office, in conjunction with the Office of Human Resources, is responsible for coordinating and conducting initial training for departmental representatives. Assistance can also be provided for departmental training. The Health and Safety Director provides training to those personnel assigned the responsibility for implementing the departmental program. Departmental representatives are responsible for ensuring that all elements required of the training program are implemented within their departments. In order to comply with Tennessee law, refresher training must be provided on an annual basis.

The training program shall include, as a minimum, the following:

1. Information on how to interpret container labels and Material Safety Data Sheets, and to understand the relationship between these two methods of hazard communication.

 

2. The location of the workplace chemical list and Material Safety Data Sheet file, and employee rights of access to them.

 

3. Places in an employee's work area where hazardous chemicals are present.

 

4. The physical and health hazards of hazardous chemicals in the work area. The chemicals' long- and short-term effects on the body and how the chemical can be detected if present.

 

5. Measures that employees may use to protect themselves from chemical hazards. These would include proper work practices, personal protective equipment, emergency procedures, etc.

 

6. General safety instructions on the handling, clean up, and disposal of hazardous chemicals. This would also include what to do in the event of a chemical spill. Information on chemical spills and clean-up procedures is available in the ETSU Hazardous Waste Management Guide.

 

All persons currently employed at the university will be trained on the dangers of the hazardous chemicals currently located in their workplaces. Whenever a new hazard is introduced into the workplace, training will be provided before or at the time of introduction of the hazardous chemical.

Prior to beginning work, each new employee will attend a health and safety orientation program at which time information on Right-To-Know and training on hazardous chemicals present in their workplace will be given. Types of training will vary due to exemptions outlined in the Right-To-Know Law.

At the conclusion of a training session, an employee should be able to verbally recall responses to the following questions in simple language:

1. What is this training about?

 

2. What hazardous chemical(s) are you exposed to or may you be exposed to during normal use or in a foreseeable emergency?

 

3. Where is this chemical present?

 

4. What are the short- and long-term effects on the body?

 

5. How can you detect if you are overexposed to the chemical(s)?

 

6. How can you protect yourself from overexposure?

 

7. Have the written program and Material Safety Data Sheets been explained to you?

 

A sign-in sheet will serve as the record of training throughout the university. Instructors should ensure that sign-in sheets contain the date, title of the class, and the signatures of all attendees.

Departments must maintain a record of the dates and attendance of their training sessions. These records are subject to review by the Health and Safety Office and state compliance officials.

Contractors and their employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals while performing work at the university will be informed of any hazards, both verbally and by means of an information sheet, prior to any work being started.

All contractors performing work which requires the introduction of hazardous chemicals into university workplaces shall notify the Health and Safety Office or their contract representative so that appropriate information can be distributed to affected ETSU employees.

Most contractor services performed at the university are coordinated through Physical Plant. However, contractor services are often requested by other university employees or departments. Any department or employee who requests contractor services is responsible for notifying the Health and Safety Office if any hazardous chemicals are present, or will be introduced, which could affect the employees of either party.

Each department must make a Workplace Hazardous Chemical List of all chemicals (materials) present in that area.

The university is required by the Right-To-Know Law to maintain an inventory of all hazardous chemicals (materials) in the workplace. From this inventory, information is obtained to aid in employee education and training, and data is compiled for required submission to the Department of Labor concerning the hazards on campus. It is essential that all departments complete their inventories as accurately as possible.

Material Safety Data Sheets may be used to evaluate whether the listed chemicals are hazardous. Chemicals which are hazards will be designated as such or listed in the hazardous ingredients section of the Material Safety Data Sheet. If the department does not have an MSDS, it may be requested from the Health and Safety Office.

Chemicals found in the following publications are automatically considered health hazards:

- 29 CFR 1910, Subpart Z, "Toxic and Hazardous Substances" (OSHA).

 

- "Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices" (latest edition), American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

 

- National Toxicology Program (NTP), "Annual Report on Carcinogens," (latest edition).

 

- International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), "Monographs," (latest edition).

 

 

In addition to maintaining Workplace Hazardous Chemical Lists for all chemicals, the university must compile and maintain a separate Workplace Chemical List for all chemicals stored or used in excess of 55 gallons or 500 pounds. This list must also include pressurized cylinders if more than four are present in the workplace (exception: all cylinders of acetylene must be reported, regardless of quantity).

The same Workplace Chemical List submitted to the state is also submitted to the Fire Chief, Johnson City Fire Department. Material Safety Data Sheets are also provided to the fire chief upon his request. By law, the fire chief is permitted to make on-site inspections of university workplaces during normal business hours for purposes of pre-planning emergency fire department activities on the campus.

The Public Safety Office maintains a list of names and telephone numbers of knowledgeable university representatives who can be contacted for information and/or assistance if an emergency situation arises.

Distribution of the university's Workplace Chemical Lists and Material Safety Data Sheets by the Johnson City Fire Chief is limited to employees of his department. If an emergency situation arises, the fire chief can distribute the information to anyone who may need it during the emergency. If this should occur, the fire chief is required to notify the Health and Safety Office in writing. Those persons who receive the information are bound by law to keep this information in confidence.

All Workplace Chemical Lists will be maintained by the Health and Safety Office. Workplace Chemical Lists must be maintained for a period of thirty (30) years.

The following conditions are exempt from the Act:

1. Any article which is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture, which has end-use function(s) dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end use, and which does not release or otherwise result in exposure to a hazardous chemical under normal conditions of use.

 

2. Products intended for personal consumption by employees in the workplace.

 

3. A workplace where a hazardous chemical is received in a sealed package and is subsequently sold or transferred in that package if the seal remains intact while the chemical is in the workplace more than fourteen (14) days.

 

4. Any food, food additive, color additive, drug, or cosmetic as such terms are defined in the Food and Drug Act; or distilled spirits, wines, or malt beverages as such terms are defined in the Federal Alcohol Administration Act.

 

 

The following statements are reproduced from Tennessee House Bill 731 - Hazardous Chemical Right-To-Know Law:

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents in the Workroom Environment. Cincinnati, 1995-1996. (Issued annually).

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), "Monographs," (latest edition).

National Toxicology Program (NTP), "Annual Report on Carcinogens," (latest edition).

"Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices," (latest edition), American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

Tennessee Hazardous Chemical Right-To-Know Law, 1985.

Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1910, subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances.

Chemical Substance. Any organic or inorganic substance of a particular molecular identity, including any combination of such substances occurring in nature in whole or in part as a result of a chemical reaction or occurring in nature any element or uncombined radical.

Combustible Liquid. Any liquid having a flash point at or above 100⁰ F.

Commissioner. The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Labor or his designee.

Common Name. Any designation or identification such as a code name, code number, trade name, brand name, or generic name used to identify a chemical other than by its chemical name.

Compressed Gas. A gas or mixture of gases having, in a container, an absolute pressure exceeding 40 psi at 70⁰ F, or a gas or mixture of gases having, in a container, an absolute pressure at 70⁰ F, or a liquid having a vapor pressure exceeding 40 psi at 100⁰ F as determined by ASTM D-323-72.

Container. Any bag, barrel, bottle, box, can, cylinder, drum, reaction vessel, storage tank, etc., in which a material is stored, transported, treated, disposed of, or otherwise handled. For purposes of this program, pipes or piping systems are not considered as containers.

Designated Representative. Any individual or organization to whom an employee gives written authorization to exercise such employee's rights under this act or a parent or legal guardian of a minor employee.

Distributor. Any business, other than a chemical manufacturer, which supplies hazardous chemicals to other distributors or to manufacturing or non-manufacturing employers.

Employee. Any person who receives a paycheck from the university, including graduate and undergraduate students. Any employee who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals in the workplace under normal operating conditions or foreseeable emergencies. Office workers, security personnel, or nonresident management personnel are not generally included unless their job performance routinely involves potential exposure to hazardous chemicals. For the purpose of this act, "employee" includes persons working for the State of Tennessee and its political subdivisions.

Expose or Exposure. Means that an employee is subjected to a hazardous chemical in the course of employment through any route of entry (inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption, or contact, etc.) and includes potential (e.g., accidental or possible) exposure.

Hazardous Chemical. Any element, chemical compound, or mixture of elements and/or compounds which is a physical hazard or health hazard as defined by the OSHA standard in 29 CFR Section 1910.1200(c) or a hazardous substance as defined by the OSHA standard in 29 CFR Section 1910.1200(d).

Label. Any written, printed, or graphic material displayed on or affixed to containers of hazardous chemicals.

Mixture. Any combination of two or more chemicals if the combination is not, in whole or in part, the result of a chemical reaction.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Written or printed material concerning a hazardous chemical, including the manufacturer's name, the chemical's synonyms, trade name, chemical family, hazardous ingredients, physical data, fire and explosion hazard procedures, special protection information, and special precautions.

Non-Manufacturing Employer. An employer in any Standard Industrial Classification Codes other than 20 through 39 (Division D, Standard Industrial Classification Manual), with a workplace where hazardous chemical(s) are used or stored for use, the State of Tennessee, its political subdivisions, and volunteer fire departments.

OSHA Standard. The Hazard Communication Standard issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 48 Federal Register 53280 et. seq. (November 25, 1983), codified under Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910.1200.

Trade Secret. Any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, information, or compilation of information (including chemical name or other unique chemical identifier) that is used in an employer's business and that gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.

Work Area. A room or defined space in a workplace where hazardous chemicals are produced or used and where employees are present.

Workplace Hazardous Chemical List. The list of all hazardous chemicals and materials present within the department. List should contain chemical name, CAS number, product name, quantity on hand, location, date, and department name.

EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL

RIGHT TO KNOW PROGRAM

"WHAT TO DO"

Booklet

Name:_______________________________________________

 

Title:________________________________________________

 

In many of the university's workplaces it may be difficult for one person to implement this program. If your department is divided among different areas and responsibilities, you may want to assign others with responsibility for their area. If so, please list their names, their titles, and the areas for which they are responsible.

LIST TEAM MEMBERS

Name____________________ Title___________________ Area___________

Name____________________ Title___________________ Area___________

Name____________________ Title____________________ Area___________

Name____________________ Title____________________ Area___________

Examples of types of chemicals commonly found include: paints, glues, solvents, strippers, welding metal, welding rods, cleaning materials (sanitary), flammable materials, combustible liquids, explosives, powders, dusts, metals, compressed gases, acids, bases (caustics), oils, abrasives, "chemicals," gases, pesticides, etc.

They may be found in small and large cans and bottles, bags, boxes, containers, cylinders, drums, tanks, etc.

Examples include: carbon monoxide from lift trucks and/or other internal combustion engines; welding fumes; wood dust; asbestos from pipes, ceilings, walls, floors, etc.

If a Material Safety Data Sheet is not available because the material is not "hazardous," the supplier must provide a statement to that effect.

You need not obtain Material Safety Data Sheets for chemicals exempted from this program. These include those:

1. in small containers (such as spray cans); AND,

2. used infrequently; AND,

3. obtained from general retail stores.

If you are unable to locate a Material Safety Data Sheet within your department, contact the Health and Safety Office, 929-6201.

A. Identity of hazardous chemical as identified on Material Safety Data Sheet.

 

B. Appropriate hazard, i.e., the specific organ affected, damage to lungs, irritates skin, causes dizziness, etc.

 

C. Name and address of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.

 

See examples of suggested label/training content on page 10.

Where labeling is not practical, such as for carbon monoxide from lift trucks or welding operations, warning signs or the equivalent must be used.

See example on the next page. This example is a suggested format; similar formats will be acceptable.

At the conclusion of a training session, an employee should be able to verbally recall responses to the following questions in simple language:

1. What is this training about?

 

2. What hazardous chemical(s) are you exposed to or may you be exposed to during normal use or in a foreseeable emergency?

 

3. Where is this chemical present?

 

4. What are the short- and long-term effects on the body?

 

5. How can you detect if you are overexposed to the chemical(s)?

 

6. How can you protect yourself from overexposure?

 

7. Have the written program and Material Safety Data Sheets been explained to you?

 

Training must be repeated annually. Record all training dates. Record all personnel attending.

Use the Material Safety Data Sheets for training. Additional information and help may be obtained from the Health and Safety Office, 929-6201.