SDS inaccuracies, 2021 CFOI, and Form 300A

What’s going on in EHS this week? Find out with Safety at the Frontline!

Tune in on Mondays to get the latest safety news with Frontline’s podcast. We’re covering the top EHS news, along with some quick and useful tips, so you can stay safe and keep rocking on the frontlines.

Inaccuracies in SDSs

Before we start the last episode of the year, we want to wish everyone who listened in and joined the show the happiest and healthiest holidays. As for this week’s news, a recent analysis of more than 650 Safety Data Sheets found that 30% feature inaccurate chemical hazard warnings, while 15% fail to warn about the chemical’s ability to cause cancer.

Two companies, BlueGreen Alliance, a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations, and Clearya, an online app that notifies of unsafe ingredients in commonly used products conducted the analysis. One example they provided regarding the inaccuracy was that an SDS for vinyl chloride – which the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified as a Group 1 known human carcinogen – warned of skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, but lacked any mention of cancer.

OSHA’s statement on the 2021 CFIO

In other news, Doug Parker of OSHA recently issued a statement about the 2021 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. Regarding the statistics, he stated that the one-year increase of nearly 9 percent in fatal work injuries serves as a call to action for OSHA, “employers, and other stakeholders to redouble the collective efforts to make workplaces safer.

He continued that in 2021, 5,190 workers suffered fatal work injuries, which means one worker death in the U.S. every 101 minutes, including 653 Black workers, whose fatality rate hit an all-time high. Black and Latino workers also had fatality rates disproportionately higher than their co-workers in 2021. These, as he noted, are deeply troubling facts.

Submitting your 300A Form

And last news of the year, OSHA is reminding employers of the upcoming window to submit 2022 Form 300A data.

Between Jan. 2 and March 2, establishments with 250 or more employees and those with 20-249 employees in certain high-hazard industries must electronically submit Form 300A. The data can be submitted in three ways via the Injury Tracking Application website:

• Manually
• By uploading a CSV file
• Via an application programming interface

Also, be advised that a new login procedure, using Login.gov, went into effect in October 2022.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast for more EHS updates and in the meantime, stay safe and stay tuned for next year!