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Industrial workers throughout the country may find it easier to work safely around hazardous chemicals, thanks to Rep. Tim Roemer (D-South Bend).
The House of Representatives unanimously passed Roemer's bill (HR 4037) Tuesday, which will make information on handling hazardous materials easier to obtain and understand. The Senate is expected to pass similar legislation soon.
"The bill makes a bipartisan, common-sense reform that promotes worker safety," Roemer said. "The current system is too complicated and too technical for many people to readily understand. You shouldn't need a Ph.D. to be able to read a warning label."
As an example, Roemer said, a warning to keep a chemical away from a worker's eyes should say, "Keep away from eyes," not "Avoid ocular contact."
Additionally, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Clinton, the regulation reform will not only make safety information much easier to understand but also easier to obtain and store.
Currently, OSHA requires business to maintain voluminous files of material safety data sheets, which contain ingredients, properties and spill handling procedures for hazardous materials. Roemer's bill would allow such information to be stored on compact disks or received through a "fax-on-demand" system directly from OSHA.
"Businesses should be allowed to enter the 21st century and take advantage of improving computer technology," Roemer said. "CD-Rom listings, on-line programs or fax-on-demand systems all would provide needed and up-to-date information at a flick of a computer switch or through a toll-free number."
Locally, R.R. Donnelley & Sons is a strong supporter of Roemer's legislation.
According to Deb Woodward, Donnelley spokeswoman, the new MSDS regulations, if approved, will be more efficient and will increase the safety of the workplace for those using hazardous chemicals by making obtaining and understanding the safety and handling information much easier.
"Right now, we have many, many copies (of the MSDS) floating through the departments, so this will make it much easier, with everyone having easier access to the information," Woodward said.
Woodward said Donnelley current maintains a master set of all the MSDS pamphlets in nine 3-inch-ring binders, and the individual departments also maintain pertinent MSDS in the offices. The ability to disseminate the safety and handling information using computer technologies will ease access to that information.
"I think it (use of technology) will be a benefit for the people who have to administer and track these MSDS and for the people on the other end who want access to the information," she said.
Woodward added that an additional advantage to the new regulation will be the standardization of the MSDS format.
"The standardization is going to make it easier to access the information from different suppliers. Some have one-page MSDS sheets, while others use up to three pages," she said.
The legislation has strong bipartisan support in the Senate as well, according to Roemer's legislative aide, Chris Mehl, who said that body is expected to pass the legislation by unanimous consent sometime in September.
"Senators (Trent) Lott and (Tom) Daschle have said they will take up the H.R. 4037 under unanimous consent after it comes out of the Labor and Human Resources Committee," Mehl said. "OSHA and the White House have also expressed strong support for the measure, so we don't anticipate any problems with it being signed into law."
