Have You Been Introduced To New Cleaning Products At Work? Read This Before You Use Them

Over the years, the Union has received continuous complaints from members about new cleaning products being introduced in their workplaces.

The Union wants all members to know that if they have not been properly trained on how to use a chemical cleaner, and if there are no material safety data sheets (MSDS) provided, by law, members have the right to refuse to use that chemical. MSDS provides information on First-Aid measures and Exposure Controls; they also supply information about the chemicals being used, hazards that come with using it, a list of toxicities, personal protective equipment that must be worn while using it, and how to mix it if necessary.

If your employer hasn’t met this criteria, by law, you have the right to refrain from using them.

Members need to be aware of what their rights are when they use potentially hazardous chemicals. Please take a look at the sections below written in the BC’s Workers Compensation Act.

5.4 Prohibition

(1) An employer must ensure that a controlled product is not used, stored or handled in a workplace unless all the applicable Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) requirements concerning labels, identifiers, MSDSs and worker education and training are complied with, except as provided in subsection (2).

(2) An employer may store a controlled product in a workplace while actively seeking information required by subsection (1).

5.6 Worker Education

(1) An employer must ensure that general WHMIS education, as it pertains to the workplace, is provided to workers on the

(a) elements of the WHMIS program,

(b) major hazards of the controlled products in use in the workplace,

(c) rights and responsibilities of employers and workers, and

(d) content required on labels and MSDSs, and the significance of this information.

(2) The employer must ensure that a worker who works with or in proximity to a controlled product received from a supplier has access to all hazard information received from the supplier concerning that controlled product as well as any further hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware concerning the use, storage and handling of that product.

(3) If a controlled product is produced in a workplace, the employer must ensure that a worker who works with or in proximity to that controlled product has access to all hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware concerning that product and its use, storage and handling.

For more detailed information of Part 5 of the Workers Compensation Act please visit:

http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/OHSRegulation/Part5.asp