Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS)

Mishandling of hazardous materials can have disastrous consequences. At work, at school, in the places you do business and at home. Knowing what you are dealing with, how to minimize exposure, and how to respond when the unthinkable happens can drastically reduce the potentially life-altering consequences of an encounter with hazardous materials.

The intent of this online WHMIS training program is to provide WHMIS certification, but more importantly, it provides participants the foundation for using knowledge to prevent accidental and long-term exposure to the harmful effects of hazardous workplace materials. Upon successful completion, a WHIMIS certificate will be issued automatically.

WHMIS Training Modules

• Introduction to WHMIS                                                

• Labels

• Basic Worker Rights                                     

• Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

• WHMIS Symbols                                                       

• Exposure to Hazardous Materials

Modules

• Introduction to WHMIS

• Hazardous materials exist in almost every workplace

• Basic Worker Rights

• WHMIS components - Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), WHMIS labels, worker training
• Right to know, to participate, to refuse unsafe work
• Company rules, personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Responsibility to report hazards, working safely

• WHMIS Symbols

• Class A - Compressed Gas
• Class B - Flammable & Combustible
• Class C - Oxidizing Materials
• Class D1 - Immediate and Serious Toxic Effects
• Class D2 - Other Toxic Effects
• Class D3 - Biohazardous Infectious Materials
• Class E - Corrosive Material
• Class F - Dangerously Reactive Materials

• WHMIS Labels

• Supplier and workplace labels, style, required content, exceptions, decanting

• The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

• Product information
• Hazardous ingredients
• Physical data
• Toxicological
• Fire / Explosion
• Preventive measures
• Reactivity data
• First aid
• Preparation

• Exposure to Hazardous Materials

• Inhalation, absorption, ingestion, injection
• Symptoms, fast versus slow, invasive

Federal Legislation

In Canada, an employer shall ensure that workers who work with a controlled product or are in close proximity to a controlled product is informed about all hazard information received from a supplier concerning the controlled products, as well as any further hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware of concerning the use, storage and handing of that controlled product. There are eight WHIMIS hazard symbols. Employers must train workers to recongnize these symbols and know what they mean.