SECTION 295.6. Labeling of Containers

(a) Employers shall rely on the manufacturers or distributors of their hazardous chemicals to provide container labels which meet the requirements of the OSHA Standard at 29 CFR, 1910.1200(f) and shall be responsible for re-labeling a container only:

(1) when the label is missing or illegible; or

(2) when it comes to the attention of the employer that the labeling does not meet the labeling requirements of the OSHA Standard.

(b) An employer who receives an unlabeled or mislabeled primary container of a hazardous chemical from a supplier or a container which requires re-labeling according to subsection (a) of this section shall ensure that such containers are re-labeled to conform to the OSHA Standard prior to use by any employee. Employers may contact their suppliers to request such replacement labels or may prepare their own replacement labels.

(c) In cases where an employer receives a primary container of a hazardous chemical that requires re-labeling according to subsection (a) of this section, except as provided in the Act, §502.007(b), the employer shall ensure that the replacement label contains the following information:

(1) the identity of the chemical appearing on the MSDS;

(2) the appropriate hazard warnings, or alternatively, words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the employer's education and training program, will reasonably provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards, including the target organ effects of the hazardous chemical; and

(3) the chemical manufacturer's name and address.

(d) Except as provided in the Act, §§502.004(f) and 502.007(b), each secondary container label must include:

(1) the identity of the chemical appearing on the MSDS; and

(2) the appropriate hazard warnings, or alternatively, words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the employer's education and training program, will reasonably provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards including the target organ effects of the hazardous chemical.

(e) The employer shall ensure that labels or other forms of warning are legible, in English, and prominently displayed on the container in the workplace, work area, or temporary workplace throughout each work shift. The employer may add label information in another language to hazardous chemical containers.

(f) Signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or other such written materials may be used in lieu of affixing labels to individual stationary process containers, as long as the alternative method identifies the containers to which it is applicable and conveys the label information required by the Act.

(g) Alternative labeling systems may be used by employers, as specified in subsections (c)(2) and (d)(2) of this section. Examples of such labeling systems are the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 704m Standard; the Hazardous Materials Information Systems (HMIS) Standard; and the U.S. Department of Transportation shipping label system.

(h) Except as provided in the Act, §502.004(f), containers of hazardous chemicals which were received prior to the original effective date of the Act, January 1, 1986, and which do not meet the requirements of this section, must be re-labeled in accordance with the current labeling requirements of the Act.

Source Note: The provisions of this §295.6 adopted to be effective September 1, 1999, 24 TexReg 3711; amended to be effective July 3, 2003, 28 TexReg 4914