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§ 7304. Obligation of suppliers

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and Safety

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes
Title 35 P.S. Health and Safety (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 41. Worker and Community Right-to-Know Act (Refs & Annos)
35 P.S. § 7304
§ 7304. Obligation of suppliers
(a) Labeling.--Every supplier, as a condition of doing business in this Commonwealth, shall insure that the container of any chemical which is delivered to a point within this Commonwealth or which is produced within this Commonwealth is clearly labeled in the manner required by section 6.1
(b) Provision of Material Safety Data Sheets.--
(1) All manufacturers, importers or suppliers, as a condition of doing business in this Commonwealth, shall prepare an MSDS for each hazardous substance or hazardous mixture they produce or import, and shall ensure that all purchasers of hazardous substances or hazardous mixtures are provided an appropriate MSDS with their initial shipment, and with the first shipment after an MSDS is updated. The manufacturer, importer or supplier shall further provide an MSDS for any other chemical delivered to a point within the Commonwealth, if the manufacturer, importer or supplier produces or possesses such an MSDS.
(2) Distributors shall ensure that MSDS's are provided to all purchasers of hazardous substances or hazardous mixtures. Manufacturers, importers, suppliers and distributors shall notify the recipient of the hazardous substance or hazardous mixture that such substance is subject to the provisions of this act. In lieu of physically attaching MSDS's to containers shipped, the manufacturer, importer, supplier or distributor may mail the MSDS to the purchaser at the time of the shipment.
(3) Employers shall obtain and maintain MSDS's for each hazardous substance or hazardous mixture in their workplace. If an MSDS is not provided with the shipment, the employer shall obtain one from the manufacturer, importer, supplier or distributor.
(4) Manufacturers, importers or suppliers shall ensure that one copy of an MSDS for each hazardous substance or hazardous mixture which they produce within or deliver to a point within this Commonwealth shall be mailed to the department at the same time as their initial shipment to an employer within this Commonwealth. In addition, the manufacturer, importer or supplier shall mail to the department one copy of an MSDS for any other chemical for which they produce or possess an MSDS, at the time of the initial shipment of the chemical to an employer within this Commonwealth. An additional submission of an MSDS shall be made at the time of the first shipment to an employer within this Commonwealth after an MSDS is updated. In this manner, or upon its own initiative, the department shall compile a complete file of all MSDS's for each hazardous substance, hazardous mixture and appropriate chemical that is produced or distributed within this Commonwealth, and shall keep the complete MSDS file updated as new information becomes available.
(c) Contents of Material Safety Data Sheets.--The information in the Material Safety Data Sheets shall reflect the contents of the relevant National Library of Medicine computer files and the latest edition of the National Fire Association's Fire Protection Guide on Hazardous Materials. Subject to the trade secret provisions of section 11,2 it shall also include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) The chemical name, the Chemical Abstracts Service number, the trade name, common names and any other names under which said substance is regulated by another State or Federal agency.
(2) The chemical name, common name and Chemical Abstracts Service number of every chemical contained in the substance which comprises 3% or more of the substance except that hazardous substances shall be listed if they comprise 1% or more of the substance, and all special hazardous substances which comprise 0.01% or more of the substance shall be listed.
(3) A reference to all relevant information on the hazardous substance from the NIOSH Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances.
(4) The boiling point, vapor pressure, vapor density, solubility in water, specific gravity, melting point, physical state, color and odorous properties at standard conditions of temperature and pressure.
(5) The flash point, auto ignition temperature, percentage of volume of flammable limits, the recommended fire extinguishing media, any special firefighting procedure and any other unusual fire or explosion hazards.
(6) The hazards, if any, posed by the substance, including its toxicity, tumorigenicity, mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity, flammability, explosiveness, corrosivity and reactivity, including specific information on its reactivity with water.
(7) A description, in nontechnical language, of the acute and chronic health effects of exposure to the substance, including the signs and symptoms of exposure, and medical conditions which are generally recognized as being aggravated by exposure to the substance.
(8) The permissible exposure level, threshold limit value, short-term, ceiling and other established limit values as set by OSHA, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, American Industrial Hygiene Association and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.
(9) The potential routes and symptoms of exposure to the hazardous substances.
(10) Emergency first aid procedures in case of inhalation, swallowing, eye splashes and skin contamination, including a telephone number to be called day or night in an emergency and any special information needed by medical practitioners treating persons.
(11) The appropriate emergency and first aid procedures for spills, fires, potential explosions and accidental or unplanned emissions involving the hazardous substance.
(12) Recommended waste disposal method if applicable.
(13) Personal protective equipment to be worn or used when handling or otherwise coming in contact with the substance and any special precautions, recommended engineering controls or work practices to be used in handling the substance.
(14) A description of the extent of testing performed on the substance.
(15) A description of the known synergistic or additive effects reasonably anticipated by exposure to this substance and to other substances over the same period of time.
(16) For mixtures, a description of any known dangers or hazards created by the mixture that are greater than and would not be otherwise disclosed by the Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets for the constituent chemical substances.
(17) The name, address and telephone number of the manufacturer of the chemical.
(18) Date of preparation or last revision of the sheet.
Notwithstanding the above, any MSDS which contains the information requested in paragraphs (1) and (2), and which otherwise contains the information required by 29 CFR § 1900.1200(g)(2), as of November 25, 1983, shall be considered to have met the requirements of this section.
(d) Chemical identification sheet.--An employer or supplier may, for convenience, provide the information requested in subsection (c)(2) by affixing a chemical identification sheet containing said information to an already existing MSDS and it shall be considered an integral part of the MSDS.
(e) Similar substances.--Where hazardous mixtures have similar contents and hazards, but vary in specific composition, the supplier or employer may prepare one Material Safety Data Sheet to apply to all of the similar mixtures: Provided, That the Material Safety Data Sheet identifies all the various mixtures by the names to which it applies, is correct in all respects and correctly states the constituent chemicals in all of the mixtures. It is not necessary to produce a new MSDS when a hazardous substance is diluted with water.
(f) No duty to test.--This section shall not be construed to mean that an employer or supplier must conduct studies to develop new information.
(g) Agricultural mixtures.--When a farm supplier combines one or more chemicals for agricultural use, the farm supplier may substitute all Material Safety Data Sheets for the ingredients in the mixture in lieu of preparing a new MSDS.

Credits

1984, Oct. 5, P.L. 734, No. 159, § 4.

Footnotes

35 P.S. § 7306.
35 P.S. § 7311.
35 P.S. § 7304, PA ST 35 P.S. § 7304
Current through Act 4 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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