Graphic Products, Inc. — Published Articles

Signage for Hazardous Chemicals and Electrical Safety

August 7, 2011
Written By: Steve Stephenson
Workplace HR & Safety

It's no exaggeration that chemical accidents and electrical arc flash explosions cause injuries, severe burns, death, destruction and costly damage to our industrial facilities and communities nearly every single day.

These are two very different safety hazards. What they have in common is the need for signs and labels alerting workers, contractors and emergency responders to the potential hazards.

While numerous organizations have introduced codes and standards providing mission-critical safety communications, regulations may change, workers come and go and facilities expand, so a review of chemical and electrical safety signs is relevant and timely.

When it's time to evaluate your labels and signs, you'll also want to be sure you have the appropriate label printer for your application.

DuraLabel has introduced several printing and labeling innovations which maximize the power and impact of chemical and electrical safety signs.

• A full family of battery-powered and desktop printers for every application and workload including the recently introduced 4 inch, mobile DuraLabel Toro label printer which does not need IT support or connectivity to a computer or a power cord.
• More than 50+ types of labeling supplies – a full range of custom, multicolor, widths, colors, adhesives and durability including resistance to chemical spills, tolerance to extreme heat and cold and visibility under low and bright light.
• A wide range of workplace safety guides available at http://www.graphicproducts.com/free-gifts.php.

Chemical Safety Signs and Labels Including Right to Know (RTK) and NFPA Labels

To ensure chemical safety in the workplace, information must be available about the identity and hazards of chemicals. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires that chemical manufacturers evaluate product hazards and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers. Companies may opt to use either NFPA diamond or color bar labels to provide Right to Know (RTK) information.

Printing your own RTK labels is straight-forward. DuraLabel RTK software enables users to print 1" x 3", 2" x 2", 3" x 5" and 4" x 6" and larger NFPA diamond labels and similar size RTK color bar labels.

RTK labels often contain the following information:

• Chemical name
• A Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number assigned to identify a specific chemical.
• Organ hazard information
• A ratings number indicating chemical severity level
• NFPA Diamond. The highly visible, brightly colored NFPA Diamond provides a color code for health (blue), flammability (red), instability (yellow) and specific (white) hazards
• Personal protection equipment (PPE) symbols for apron, face shield, safety glasses, vapor respirator, safety goggles, dust respirator, boots, safety suit, gloves and air line hood or mask.

In August, OSHA will release the final rules on the new Global Harmonized System (GHS) of labeling hazardous materials which was created to enhance the protection of human health and the environment by providing an internationally comprehensible system. The standard label elements in the GSH are:

• Symbols (hazard pictograms) convey health, physical and environmental hazard information, assigned to a GHS hazard class and category
• Signal words such as "Danger" or "Warning" emphasize hazards and indicate the relative level of severity of the hazard, assigned to a GHS hazard class and category
• Hazard statements or standardized phrases assigned to a hazard class and category that describe the nature of the hazard
• Product identifiers
• Supplier identification
• Supplemental information

According to OSHA, products falling within the scope of the GHS will carry the GHS label at the point where they are supplied to the workplace, and that label should be maintained on the supplied container in the workplace. The GHS label or label elements can also be used for workplace containers (e.g., storage tanks). Employers may use alternative means of giving workers the same information in a different written or displayed format when such a format is more appropriate to the workplace and communicates the information as effectively as the GHS label. For example, label information could be displayed in the work area, rather than on the individual containers. Some examples of workplace situations where chemicals may be transferred from supplier containers include: containers for laboratory testing, piping or process reaction systems or temporary containers.

Electrical and Arc Flash Labeling

Whenever work is done on energized equipment, live telephone wires, underground cables and other potential electrical hazards, a comprehensive safety program should be implemented. Labeling arc flash hazards is an important part of electrical safety. According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), all equipment installed or modified in any way after 2002 requires an arc flash label.

Companies should conduct an arc flash analysis, provide adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) for workers, and ensure that workers are properly trained in the procedures necessary to avoid arc flash injuries.

NFPA 70E states that "Switchboards, panel boards, industrial control panels, meter socket enclosures, and motor control centers in other than dwelling occupancies, which are likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing, or maintenance while energized, shall be field marked to warn qualified persons of potential electric arc flash hazards." In addition to the equipment required, many companies choose to mark other equipment that carries a risk of arc flash, such as disconnect switches.

While chemical and electrical hazards are top of mind, your first line of defense – signs and labels – should serve as a constant reminder that danger may occur suddenly and dramatically.

Our position is to provide facility managers with powerful options – industrial printers for every need and labeling supplies for the broadest range of applications because industrial safety is a 24/7/365 job. For more information, visit www.DuraLabel.com. For additional background, visit The Chemical Safety Board, www.csb.gov.