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New Brunswick Legislation

New Brunswick Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

This material has been extracted from the Acts and Regulations of the Province to help students understand the subject. It is not an official source of information and must not be used for any other purpose.This will be covered in greater detail in your online WHMIS training course.

The following is © QUEEN’S PRINTER FOR NEW BRUNSWICK. All rights reserved.

NEW BRUNSWICK
REGULATION 88-221
under the
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT
(O.C. 88-883)

Filed October 7, 1988
Under section 51 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council makes the following Regulation:
1 This Regulation may be cited as the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System Regulation - Occupational Health and Safety Act.
2(1) In the Act and this Regulation
"controlled product" means any product, material or substance specified by the regulations made under paragraph 15(1)(a) of the Hazardous Products Act, to be included in any of the classes listed in Schedule II of that Act.
2(2) In this Regulation
"Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety Act;
"bulk shipment" means a shipment of a controlled product that is contained without intermediate packaging in
(a) a vessel with a water capacity of more than 454 litres,
(b) a freight container, a portable tank, a road vehicle, a railway vehicle, a freight container carried on a road vehicle, railway vehicle, ship or aircraft or a portable tank carried on a road vehicle, railway vehicle, ship or aircraft,
(c) the hold of a ship, or
(d) a pipeline;
"container" includes a bag, barrel, bottle, box, can, cylinder, drum, storage tank or similar package or receptacle;
"Controlled Products Regulations" means the Controlled Products Regulations made under the Hazardous Products Act;
"employer material safety data sheet" means, in respect of a controlled product, a document prepared by an employer which discloses the information referred to in subsection 14(1);
"fugitive emission" means a controlled product in gas, liquid or solid form that escapes from processing equipment, emission control equipment or from a product;
"hazard information" means information on the proper and safe use, storage and handling of a controlled product and includes information relating to its toxicological properties;
"Hazardous Materials Information Review Act" means the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act, Part III of chapter 30 of the Statutes of Canada, 1987;
"Hazardous Products Act" means the Hazardous Products Act, chapter H-3 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970;
"hazardous waste" means a controlled product that is intended for disposal or is sold for recycling or recovery;
"label" includes any mark, sign, device, stamp, seal, sticker, ticket, tag or wrapper;
"laboratory sample" means, in respect of a controlled product, a sample of the controlled product that is intended solely to be tested in a laboratory, but does not include a controlled product that is to be used
(a) by the laboratory for testing other products, materials or substances, or
(b) for educational or demonstration purposes;
"manufactured article" means any article that is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture, the intended use of which when in that form is dependent in whole or in part on its shape or design, and that, under normal conditions of use, will not release or otherwise cause a person to be exposed to a controlled product;
"material safety data sheet" includes an employer material safety data sheet and a supplier material safety data sheet;
"product identifier" means, in respect of a controlled product, the brand name, code name or code number specified by a supplier or employer or the chemical name, common name, generic name or trade name;
"readily available" means present in an appropriate place in a physical copy form that can be handled;
"research and development" means, in respect of a controlled product, systematic investigation or search carried out in a field of science or technology by means of experiment or analysis, other than investigation or search in respect of market research, sales promotion, quality control or routine testing, and includes
(a) applied research, namely, work undertaken for the advancement of scientific knowledge with a specific practical application in view, and
(b) development, namely, use of the results of applied research for the purpose of creating new processes or controlled products or improving existing processes or controlled products;
"Review Commission" means the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission established under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act;
"risk phrase" means, in respect of a controlled product or a class, division or subdivision of controlled products, a statement identifying a hazard that may arise from the nature of the controlled product or the class, division or subdivision of controlled products;
"supplier" means a supplier under the Hazardous Products Act;
"supplier label" means, in respect of a controlled product, a label provided by a supplier which meets the requirements of paragraph 13(b) of the Hazardous Products Act and the Controlled Products Regulations;
"supplier material safety data sheet" means, in respect of a controlled product, a document provided by a supplier which discloses the information referred to in subparagraphs 13(a)(i) to (v) of the Hazardous Products Act and the Controlled Products Regulations;
"workplace label" means, in respect of a controlled product, a label provided by an employer which discloses
(a) a product identifier which is identical to that found on the material safety data sheet of the corresponding controlled product,
(b) information for the safe handling of the controlled product, and
(c) that a material safety data sheet, if supplied or produced, is available.
88-232

APPLICATION
3(1) Subject to subsection (3), this Regulation does not apply to a controlled product at a place of employment that is
(a) wood or a product made of wood;
(b) tobacco or a product made of tobacco;
(c) a manufactured article;
(d) hazardous waste; or
(e) being transported or handled under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, chapter 36 of the Statutes of Canada, 1980-81-82-83.

3(2) Subsections 7(1) to (4) and sections 13, 14, 15 and 17 do not apply where the controlled product at a place of employment is any
(a) explosive within the meaning of the Explosives Act, chapter E-15 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970;
(b) cosmetic, device, drug or food within the meaning of the Food and Drug Act, chapter F-27 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970;

(c) control product within the meaning of the Pest Control Products Act, chapter P-10 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970;
(d) prescribed substance within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Control Act, chapter A-19 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970; or
(e) product, material or substance packaged as a consumer product in quantities normally used by the consuming public.
3(3) An employer shall ensure the safe storage and handling of a hazardous waste generated at a place of employment by identification of the hazardous waste and by the provision of information, instruction and training prescribed in sections 5 and 6.

PROHIBITION
4(1) An employer shall ensure that a controlled product is not used, stored or handled at a place of employment unless the requirements of this Regulation are complied with.
4(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an employer may store a controlled product at a place of employment while actively seeking information required under this Regulation.

EMPLOYEE INSTRUCTION ANDTRAINING

5(1) An employer shall ensure that an employee who works with or in proximity to controlled product is informed of all hazard information received from a supplier concerning the controlled product as well as any further hazard information concerning the controlled product of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware.

5(2) Where a controlled product is produced at a place of employment, an employer shall ensure that an employee who works with or in proximity to the controlled product is informed of all hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware concerning the controlled product.
6(1) An employer shall ensure that an employee who works with or in proximity to a controlled product is instructed and trained in
(a) the content required on a supplier label and workplace label and the purpose and significance of the information contained on the labels;
(b) the content required on a material safety data sheet and the purpose and significance of the information contained on the material safety data sheet;
(c) procedures for the safe use, storage, handling and disposal of a controlled product;
(d) specific information needed for the safe use, storage, handling and disposal of a controlled product contained or transferred in
(i) a pipe,
(ii) a piping system including valves,
(iii) a process vessel,
(iv) a reaction vessel, or
(v) a tank car, tank truck, ore car, conveyor belt or similar conveyance;
(e) procedures to be followed where fugitive emissions are present; and
(f) procedures to be followed in case of an emergency involving a controlled product.
6(2) An employer shall ensure that the program of employee instruction and training required by subsection (1) is
(a) developed and implemented for the employer’s place of employment,
(b) related to any other hazard prevention and control program at the place of employment, and
(c) developed and implemented in consultation with the joint health and safety committee, if any, or the health and safety representative, if any.
6(3) An employer shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the program of employee instruction and training required by subsection (1) results in an employee being able to apply the information as needed to protect the employee’s health and safety.
6(4) An employer shall review at least annually, or more frequently if required by a change in work conditions or available hazard information, and in consultation with the joint health and safety committee, if any, or health and safety representative, if any, the instruction and training provided to employees concerning controlled products.

LABELLING AND IDENTIFICATION
Supplier Labels
7(1) An employer shall ensure that a controlled product or the container of a controlled product received at a place of employment is labelled with a supplier label.
7(2) Where an employer receives a controlled product in a multi-container shipment and the individual containers have not been labelled by the supplier, the employer shall apply a label that meets the requirements of paragraph 13(b) of the Hazardous Products Act and the Controlled Products Regulations to each individual container.
7(3) Where an employer receives a controlled product imported under section 23 of the Controlled Products Regulations at a place of employment and the controlled product does not have a supplier label, the employer shall apply a label that meets the requirements of paragraph 14(b) of the Hazardous Products Act and the Controlled Products Regulations to the controlled product or the container of the controlled product.
7(4) An employer who receives a controlled product transported as a bulk shipment at a place of employment shall
(a) apply a supplier label to the container of the controlled product or to the controlled product, or
(b) where under section 15 of the Controlled Products Regulations a supplier is not required to label a controlled product transported as a bulk shipment, apply a workplace label to the container of the controlled product or to the controlled product.
7(5) Except where otherwise provided in this Regulation, an employer shall not remove, deface, modify or alter a supplier label applied to a controlled product or the container of a controlled product if any amount of the controlled product remains or any amount of the controlled product remains in the container.
7(6) Where a supplier label applied to a controlled product or a container of a controlled product becomes illegible or is removed from the controlled product or the container, an employer shall replace the label with either a workplace label or a supplier label.

Workplace Labels
8(1) Where an employer produces a controlled product, other than a fugitive emission, the employer shall ensure that the controlled product or the container of the controlled product has applied to it a workplace label.
8(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the controlled product is in a container that is intended to contain the controlled product for sale or distribution and the container is or is about to be appropriately labelled.

Workplace Label for Decanted Products
9(1) Where a controlled product is in a container which is not the container in which it was received from the supplier, an employer shall ensure that the container is labelled with a workplace label.
9(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a portable container that has been filled directly from a container with a supplier label or workplace label if
(a) the controlled product
(i) is under the control of and is used exclusively by the employee who filled the portable container,
(ii) is used only during the shift in which the portable container is filled, and
(iii) in the portable container is clearly identified; or
(b) all of the controlled product in the portable container is required for immediate use.

Identification of a Controlled Product in
Piping Systems and Vessels
10 Where a controlled product is contained or transferred in
(a) a pipe,
(b) a piping system including valves,
(c) a process vessel,
(d) a reaction vessel, or
(e) a tank car, tank truck, ore car, conveyor belt or similar conveyance,
an employer shall ensure the safe use, storage and handling of the controlled product through employee instruction and training and the use of colour coding, labels, placards or any other mode of identification.

Placard Identifiers
11 Notwithstanding sections 7, 8 and 9, where a controlled product is
(a) not in a container,
(b) in a container or form intended for export, or
(c) in a container that is intended to contain the controlled product for sale or distribution and the container is not about to be appropriately labelled under subsection 8(2) and is to be appropriately labelled within the normal course of the employer’s business and without undue delay,
an employer may fulfill the labelling requirements set out in sections 7, 8 and 9 by posting a placard near the controlled product which
(d) discloses the information required for a workplace label, and
(e) is of such size and in such a location that the information on the placard is conspicuous and clearly legible to employees.

Laboratory Labels
12(1) Where a controlled product
(a) originates from a laboratory supply house,
(b) is intended by the employer solely for use in a laboratory, and
(c) is packaged in a container in a quantity of less than ten kilograms,
a label provided by the supplier and applied to the container of the controlled product received at a place of employment complies with the requirements of section 7 with respect to a supplier label if it discloses the following information:
(d) a product identifier;
(e) where a material safety data sheet is available, a statement indicating that fact; and
(f) the following information that is applicable to the product:
(i) risk phrases;
(ii) precautionary measures; and
(iii) first aid measures.
12(2) Where a sample of a product that is a controlled product or that an employer has reason to believe may be a controlled product

(a) is contained in a container that contains less than ten kilograms of the product,
(b) is intended by the employer solely for analysis, testing or evaluation in a laboratory, and
(c) is one in respect of which the supplier is exempted by section 9 of the Controlled Products Regulations from the requirement to provide a material safety data sheet,
a label provided by the supplier and applied to the container of the product received at a place of employment complies with the requirements of section 7 with respect to a supplier label if it discloses the following information:
(d) the product identifier;
(e) the chemical identity or generic chemical identity of any ingredient of the controlled product referred to in any of subparagraphs 13(a)(i) to (v) of the Hazardous Products Act, if known to the supplier or the employer;

(f) the supplier identifier;
(g) the statement "Hazardous Laboratory Sample, for hazard information or in an emergency call";
(emergency telephone number under paragraph (h))

(h) an emergency telephone number of the supplier that will enable
(i) a user of the controlled product to obtain hazard information in respect of the controlled product, and
(ii) a medical practitioner or registered nurse to obtain information in respect of the controlled product that is referred to in paragraph 13(a) of the Hazardous Products Act and is in the possession of the supplier for the purpose of making a medical diagnosis, or rendering treatment to a person, in an emergency.
12(3) Where a controlled product is in a container other than the container in which it was received from a supplier or is produced in the place of employment, an employer is exempt from the requirements of section 9 if the controlled product
(a) originates from a laboratory supply house or is a laboratory sample,
(b) is intended by the employer solely for use, analysis, testing or evaluation in a laboratory, and
(c) is clearly identified through a combination of
(i) any mode of identification visible to employees at the place of employment, and
(ii) employee instruction and training required under sections 5 and 6,
and the employer shall ensure that the mode of identification and employee instruction and training used enables the employees to readily identify and obtain either the information required on an employer material safety data sheet, a supplier material safety data sheet, or a label or document disclosing the information referred to in paragraphs (2)(d) to (h) with respect to the controlled product or the sample.
12(4) Where a controlled product is produced in a laboratory, an employer is exempt from the requirements of sections 8 and 9 if the controlled product
(a) is intended by the employer solely for evaluation, analysis or testing for research and development,
(b) is not removed from the laboratory, and
(c) is clearly identified through a combination of
(i) any mode of identification visible to employees at the place of employment, and
(ii) employee instruction and training,
and the employer shall ensure that the mode of identification and employee instruction and training used enables employees to readily identify and obtain either the information required on an employer material safety data sheet, if one has been produced, or such other information as is necessary to ensure the safe use, storage and handling of the controlled product.
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS

Supplier Material Safety Data Sheets
13(1) An employer who receives or has received a controlled product at a place of employment shall obtain a supplier material safety data sheet in respect of the controlled product.
13(2) Where a supplier is exempted from the requirement to provide a supplier material safety data sheet for a controlled product under section 9 or 10 of the Controlled Products Regulations, an employer is exempt from the requirement to obtain a supplier material safety data sheet for the controlled product.
13(3) Where the supplier material safety data sheet obtained under subsection (1) is three years old, an employer shall, if possible, obtain from the supplier an up-to-date supplier material safety data sheet in respect of any of that controlled product at the place of employment at that time.
13(4) Where an employer is unable to obtain an up-to-date supplier material safety data sheet referred to in subsection (3), the employer shall add any new hazard information applicable to the controlled product to the most recent supplier material safety data sheet obtained under subsection (1) on the basis of the ingredients of the controlled product disclosed in that supplier material safety data sheet.
13(5) An employer may provide a material safety data sheet in a format different from the format in the supplier material safety data sheet or containing additional hazard information if the material safety data sheet
(a) discloses no less information than that disclosed on the supplier material safety data sheet, and
(b) indicates that the supplier material safety data sheet is available, and
the employer makes the supplier material safety data sheet readily available.
13(6) Where a controlled product is received at a laboratory from a laboratory supply house or is a laboratory sample and the supplier has provided a material safety data sheet, an employer shall ensure that a copy of the material safety data sheet is made available to employees in the laboratory.

Employer Material Safety Data Sheets
14(1) Where an employer produces a controlled product at a place of employment, the employer shall prepare a material safety data sheet in respect of the controlled product that discloses, with the necessary modifications, the information required to be disclosed by
(a) subparagraphs 13(a)(i) to (v) of the Hazardous Products Act, and
(b) the Controlled Products Regulations.
14(2) For purposes of subsection (1), "produces" does not include the production of a fugitive emission or intermediate products undergoing reaction within a reaction or process vessel.
14(3) Where a controlled product is received or produced at a laboratory and the employer has prepared a material safety data sheet, the employer shall ensure that the material safety data sheet is made available to employees in the laboratory.
14(4) An employer shall disclose the source of any toxocological data used in preparing an employer material safety data sheet
(a) to an employee upon request,
(b) to an officer upon request, and
(c) to a member of the joint health and safety committee, if any, or to a health and safety representative, if any, upon request.
14(5) An employer shall update an employer material safety data sheet
(a) as soon as practical and not later than ninety days after new hazard information becomes available to the employer, and
(b) at least once every three years.

Availability of Material Safety Data Sheets
15(1) An employer shall ensure that a copy of a material safety data sheet referred to in sections 13 and 14 is readily available
(a) to employees who may be exposed to the controlled product, and
(b) to the joint health and safety committee, if any, or to a health and safety representative, if any.
15(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a material safety data sheet may be made available on a computer terminal if the employer
(a) takes all reasonable steps to keep the terminal in active working order,
(b) makes the material safety data sheet available on the request of an employee, and
(c) provides training in accessing a computer-stored material safety data sheet to
(i) an employee who works where the material safety data sheet is available on a computer terminal, and
(ii) members of the joint health and safety committee, if any, or a health and safety representative, if any.

CLAIMS FOR EXEMPTION
16 Notwithstanding any other provision in this Regulation, where an employer claims an exemption from a requirement to disclose information under section 17, the employer may delete from a supplier label or from a material safety data sheet referred to in section 13 or 14, for the time period prescribed by subsection 17(5), the information that is the subject of the claim but may not delete hazard information.
17(1) An employer who is required to disclose or to ensure that there is disclosed on a label or a material safety data sheet
(a) the chemical identity or concentration of any ingredient of a controlled product,
(b) the name of any toxicological study that identifies any ingredient of a controlled product,
(c) the chemical name, common name, generic name, trade name or brand name of a controlled product, or
(d) other information that could be used to identify a supplier of a controlled product,
may claim an exemption from the requirement to disclose such information if the employer considers the information to be confidential business information.
17(2) The Review Commission is designated for the purpose of determining whether a claim for an exemption from the requirement to disclose the information considered by the employer to be confidential business information is valid.
17(3) A claim under subsection (1) shall be filed in the same manner, with the necessary modifications, as a claim under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act.
17(4) The Review Commission shall, with the necessary modifications, exercise the powers, perform the functions and follow the procedures under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act and the regulations under that Act in respect of a claim made under subsection (1).
17(5) Information that an employer considers to be confidential business information is exempt from disclosure from the time a claim is filed under subsection (1) until the claim is finally determined by the Review Commission and for a period of three years from the date that the claim is determined if the claim is found to be valid.
17(6) An employer who makes a claim under subsection (1) shall abide by decisions of and orders of the Review Commission.
17(7) An appeal of a decision or order made by the Review Commission in respect of a claim made under subsection (1) shall be made in the same manner, with the necessary modifications, as an appeal under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act and the regulations under that Act.
18(1) An employer who files a claim under section 17 for exemption from a requirement to disclose information in respect of a controlled product on a material safety data sheet or on a label shall disclose on the material safety data sheet and, where applicable, on the label of the controlled product or container in which the controlled product is packaged the date that the claim for exemption was filed and any registry number assigned to the claim.
18(2) The requirements of subsection (1) apply in respect of an employer who receives notice of a decision that the claim for exemption is valid
(a) where there is no appeal of the decision, for a period not exceeding thirty days after the expiry of the appeal period, and
(b) where there is an appeal of the decision, for a period not exceeding thirty days after expiry of the appeal period in respect of the decision on appeal, if there is no appeal of that decision.
18(3) An employer who receives notice of a decision that the claim or a portion of the claim for exemption from a requirement to disclose information in respect of a controlled product on a material safety data sheet or a label is valid shall, during the period beginning not more than thirty days after the final disposition of the claim and ending on the last day of the time period prescribed by subsection 17(5), disclose on the material safety data sheet and, where applicable, on the label of the controlled product or container in which the controlled product is packaged the following information:
(a) a statement that an exemption has been granted;
(b) the date of the decision granting the exemption; and
(c) any registry number assigned to the claim.

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