Wellington Health Care Alliance Presents

 WHMIS stands for Workplace Hazardous Materials

Information System
 The purpose of WHMIS is to reduce injury, illness or
disease caused by exposure to hazardous materials.
 WHMIS is law under the Canada Labour Code and is
applied in Ontario as a regulation under the
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
 All staff MUST complete WHMIS training
 WHMIS covers all products considered “hazardous”
 Pest control products (Pest Control Products Act)
 Consumer products (Canada Consumer Product Safety Act)
 Pharmaceuticals, cosmetic, and food (Food and Drugs Act)
 Wood or products made of wood
 Nuclear substances (Nuclear Safety and Control Act)
 Explosives (Explosives Act)
 Hazardous waste being a hazardous product that is sold for
recycling or recovery and is intended for disposal.
 Tobacco and tobacco products (Tobacco Act)

NOTE: while a product may not be under the requirement to

have a WHMIS label and SDS (Safety Data Sheets); employers
must provide education and training on these products.
1. Globally Harmonized System of Classification and
Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) has been adopted
2. Products previously called “controlled” are now called
“hazardous”
3. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are now called
Safety Data Sheets (SDS); with no expiry dates
4. Pictograms on labels and Safety Data Sheets have
changed
5. Signal words such as “Danger” have been added to
Supplier Labels
6. More information have been added to Supplier Labels
and Safety Data Sheets
 WHMIS has aligned with the worldwide hazard communication
system known as GHS – the Globally Harmonized System of
Classification and Labelling of Chemicals

 Aligning with GHS provides many benefits, including:

 More comprehensive hazard classification criteria
 New hazard classes include physical and health hazards
 Physical hazard criteria are consistent with the Transport of
Dangerous Goods
 Standardized language (hazard and precautionary statements).
 Standardized SDS format and more comprehensive
requirements.
 For product X (prior to GHS) it would be labelled as:
Country Label (prior to GHS labelling)
North America Toxic
Australia and Europe Harmful
China Moderately Toxic
New Zealand Hazardous
India Non-toxic

 Imagine the legal complications and difficulty of exporting/importing this product

from one country to another.

 Imagine the number of different labels required for this product let alone how
you accurately communicate the hazards associated with this product to workers
who might use it.
Basically…
 Suppliers who sell or import hazardous products must
classify hazardous products.

 Classification is determined based on comparison of all

available hazard data for the ingredients or mixture to the
WHMIS requirements.

 When a product is a hazardous product, the supplier must

label the product or container and they must provide a
safety data sheet (SDS) to their customers.
 Educate and train workers on the hazards, safe
storage, handling, and use of the hazardous products

 Ensure hazardous products are properly labelled

 Prepare workplace labels and safety data sheets (SDS)

if required

 Provide workers with access to up-to-date labels and

SDS
 Follow safe work procedures and use required
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when handling a
WHMIS product

 Notify your employer or supervisor about problems

with labels and safety data sheets (SDS), such as
improper or missing information

 Report any violations of the Occupational Health and

Safety Act or WHMIS to their manager/supervisor
 The transition time is present.

 Suppliers have until May 31, 2017 to transition WHMIS 1988

labels/MSDS to WHMIS 2015 labels/SDS

 Distributors have until May 31, 2018 to transition from

WHMIS 1988

 Employers have until November 30, 2018 to educate staff on

WHMIS 2015

 All staff will be educated on both systems during the

transition time. Once the transition is complete, staff will
solely be educated on WHMIS 2015
 You will continue to
find WHMIS 1988
hazard symbols on
products until the
suppliers have
transitioned over to
WHMIS 2015
Corrosive

Oxidizing Hazards

Health Hazard
Corrosive

Oxidizing Hazards

Health Hazard
 WHMIS 1988 WHMIS 2015
A supplier label must: A supplier label must:
 appear on all controlled products received at  appear on all hazardous products received at
workplaces in Canada workplaces in Canada
 contain the following information:
 contain the following information:  name of product/product identifier
 name of product/product identifier  name of supplier
 name of supplier  a statement that a SDS is available
 a statement that an MSDS is available  pictogram: with a red diamond shape
 hazard symbols  signal word: a single word to alert reader of
 risk phrases hazard and it’s severity (ie. Danger)
 precautionary measures  hazard statement: describing the nature of
 first aid measures the hazard
 have all text in English and French  precautionary statement: measures taken
 have the WHMIS hatched border.
place to prevent adverse event
 supplemental label information
 Information of distributer if the hazardous
product is imported and distributed
 Have all text in English and French
Name of product

Pictogram

Signal word
Hazard Statement
Precautionary Statement

Supplemental Label
Information

Name of Supplier
 WHMIS 1988
A workplace label must:
 appear on all controlled products produced in
a workplace or transferred to other
containers by the employer
 have the following information:
 product identifier (product name)
 information for the safe handling of the
product
 statement that the MSDS is available
 may contain the WHMIS hazard symbols
or other pictograms.
*If the hazardous product is always used in the container with the supplier label, no other
label is required.
WHMIS 2015
A workplace label must:
 appear on all hazardous products produced
in a workplace or transferred to other
containers by the employer
 Replace a lost or illegible supplier label
 have the following information:
 Product name (matching the SDS product
name).
 Safe handling precautions, may include
pictograms or other supplier label
information.
 a reference to the SDS
MSDS have 9 information points: SDS have 16 information points:
1. Identification
1. Product Information: product identifier 2. Hazard(s) identification
(name), manufacturer and suppliers 3. Composition/information on
names, addresses, and emergency ingredients
phone numbers 4. First-aid measures
2. Hazardous Ingredients
5. Fire-fighting measures
3. Physical Data
6. Accidental release measures
4. Fire or Explosion Hazard Data
7. Handling and Storage
5. Reactivity Data: information on the
8. Exposure controls/personal protection
chemical instability of a product and the
substances it may react with 9. Physical and chemical properties
6. Toxicological Properties: health effects 10. Stability and reactivity
7. Preventive Measures 11. Toxicological information
8. First Aid Measures 12. Ecological information
9. Preparation Information: who is 13. Disposal considerations
responsible for preparation and date of 14. Transport information
preparation of MSDS 15. Regulatory information
16. Other information
 Receive education on
how to use hazardous
products

 Wear PPE correctly if

indicated

 Review MSDS/SDS->
They are on the
homepage on the
intranet…

 When in doubt, ask

questions
For GMCH Staff:
1. Click on the link:
www.testmoz.com/687928
*If you are having trouble
opening the link, right click the
mouse on the link and
click on “Open Hyperlink”
2. Type your FIRST and LAST name
in the box labelled name
3. Password: GMCH
4. Complete the five questions
5. Your results will automatically be
recorded
For NWHC Staff:
1. Click on the link:
www.testmoz.com/711551
*If you are having trouble
opening the link, right click the
mouse on the link and
click on “Open Hyperlink”
2. Type your FIRST and LAST name
in the box labelled name
3. Password: NWHC
4. Complete the five questions
5. Your results will automatically be
recorded
Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety
www.ccohs.ca

Ontario Ministry of Labour

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/ohsa/

MSDS Online
www.msdsonline.com