Electronic access to material safety data sheets

March 24, 1995

William J. Schuchman, REM, REPA
Executive Director MMA
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Schuchman:

Thank you for your letter of February 5, to Mr. Joseph A. Dear, Assistant Secretary of Labor, concerning compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) and the requirement for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). In your letter you wished to know if the following statement from an advertisement cover-sheet is correct: "The federal OSHA and all state OSHA's have ruled that this system meets the requirement of having current copies on file of all MSDS."

The ad that you provided is misleading. First, Federal OSHA does not review specific products and, therefore, has not reviewed or approved the system you refer to. Second, the $7000 penalty figure quoted in the ad is the maximum amount that OSHA can cite for a serious violation. It is not the typical amount cited for failure to have or to provide employee access to an MSDS. Review of OSHA's FY 1994 inspection data for HCS indicates that the average penalty amount was less than $500, and in many cases there was no penalty assessed.

As for the requirements for MSDSs to be physically present on-site, under OSHA's interpretation of the HCS, the employer may use electronic or other methods to maintain and provide access to MSDS as long as there are no barriers to employee access. The paragraph of the standard that applies is 29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(8), which states:

"The employer shall maintain in the workplace copies of the required material safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical, and shall ensure that they are readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s). (Electronic access, microfiche, and other alternatives to maintaining paper copies of the material safety data sheets are permitted as long as no barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created by such options.)"

Again, as a policy matter, OSHA does not approve materials developed by the private sector. If any organization represents OSHA's review as an approval and advertises the material as being OSHA-approved, OSHA will refer the matter to the Federal Trade Commission for action. You are free to forward a copy of this response to any and all parties interested.

In spite of any claims by advertising, compliance with OSHA standards is determined by OSHA compliance officers during an on-site evaluation. When a compliance officer inspects a facility, the adequacy and accuracy of the hazard communication program is assessed, including MSDS, labels, and other written materials.

We hope this response meets your needs and we appreciate the opportunity to be of service to you.

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

Enclosure

[Requester letter reproduced on OSHA page; omitted here.]