ANSI flammable-liquid labels under hazard communication rules

October 11, 1994

Mr. Russell K. Snyder
General Manager, Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Snyder:

Thank you for your letter of August 15, concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), 29 CFR 1910.1200, container labelling requirements. In your letter you were concerned about the proposed revision ANSI Z129.1-1994, American National Standard for Hazardous Industrial Chemicals - Precautionary Labeling and its compliance with the HCS. Your specific question is reiterated below.

"Would a liquid with a flashpoint of 101 degrees F, labelled as a flammable liquid, be in compliance with the HCS? Said another way: Is the use of the ANSI "flammable liquid" definition for hazard communication permitted by OSHA as an alternative to the one contained in the HCS? If so, is there a list of acceptable alternatives to other HCS definitions which we can obtain from OSHA?"

On February 9, 1994 OSHA published the modified final rule for the HCS that included a number of minor changes and technical amendments to further clarify the requirements and ensure full compliance. Section (c) of the HCS defines "flammable liquids" as:

"Liquid, flammable means any liquid (chemical) having a flash point below 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C), except any mixture having components with flashpoints of 100 degrees F or higher, the total of which make up 99 percent or more of the total volume of the mixture."

OSHA, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Department of Transportation have similar definitions for "flammable liquid." If industry were to use the proposed ANSI flammable liquid definition, then chemicals labeled as flammable according to the proposed ANSI standard would be labelled as combustible under the NFPA and OSHA's HCS. Therefore, using the proposed ANSI definition would be considered a technical violation of the HCS and classified as de minimis. A de minimis violation is a violation of a standard that has no direct bearing on employee safety and health.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact [the Office of Health Enforcement at (202) 693-2190].

Sincerely,

John B. Miles, Jr., Director Directorate of Compliance Programs

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[Corrected 12/6/2024]