The label is your first warning. Containers shipped to your workplace carry a label from the supplier. This lesson shows how to read it.
Who is responsible
The chemical manufacturer, importer or distributor must make sure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving its premises is labeled, tagged or marked with the required information (1910.1200(f)). Your employer must not remove or deface these labels unless the container is immediately re-marked with the required information.
The six label elements
A label on a shipped container shows:
- Product identifier: the name or number of the chemical. It must match the name on the safety data sheet.
- Signal word: Danger or Warning.
- Hazard statement(s): short phrases that describe the nature and degree of the hazard, for example "Highly flammable liquid and vapor" or "Causes severe skin burns and eye damage". The wording is fixed by the standard for each hazard class and category.
- Pictogram(s): the symbols from the previous lesson.
- Precautionary statement(s): recommended measures to prevent or reduce harm, such as "Keep away from heat" or "Wear protective gloves". They cover prevention, response (including first aid), storage and disposal.
- Supplier identification: the name, U.S. address and U.S. telephone number of the manufacturer, importer or other responsible party.
Labels must be legible and in English. A supplier may add other languages as well. If the supplier adds supplemental information, it must not contradict or cast doubt on the required elements.
An example in words
Imagine a label on a drum of cleaning solvent. It could show: the product name; the word Danger; a flame and a health-hazard symbol; the statements "Highly flammable liquid and vapor" and "May cause drowsiness or dizziness"; precautions such as "Keep away from sparks and open flames" and "Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated area"; and the supplier's address and phone number.
From this label alone you know it is a serious fire hazard and an inhalation hazard, and what to do first. For more detail you go to the SDS.
Who answers for the label
The supplier answers for the label on the container it ships. If a label looks wrong, incomplete or contradicts the SDS, tell your supervisor. The employer can ask the supplier to correct it.
What the 2024 update changed
The 2024 final rule updates the label requirements to follow newer GHS revisions:
- some hazard classes and categories were revised, for example for flammable gases and aerosols, and a new class for desensitized explosives was added,
- until the compliance dates, suppliers may use either the old or the new rules, so you may see both old and new labels for a while,
- suppliers must revise the label within six months of learning of significant new hazard information. Containers already released for shipment need not be relabeled, but the updated label must then go with each container in the shipment.
This means a chemical you already know may arrive with a new label. Read each new label.
When the label is not enough
The label gives a summary. It does not give exposure limits, first-aid detail, safe storage or spill clean-up. The SDS does. Always go to the SDS when you start using a new product, or when something unexpected happens.
What to remember
- A shipped container label has six elements: product identifier, signal word, hazard statements, pictograms, precautionary statements and supplier identification.
- Labels are in English.
- Do not remove or deface a label unless the container is re-marked at once.
- The label is a summary. The SDS has the detail.