Definition.

Hazardous material. A material with one or more of the following characteristics:

(a) Has a flash point below 140°F, closed cup, or is subject to spontaneous heating;

(b) Has a threshold limit value below 500 p.p.m. in the case of a gas or vapor, below 500 mg./m.3 for fumes, and below 25 m.p.p.c.f. in case of a dust;

(d) Is subject to polymerization with the release of large amounts of energy;

(e) Is a strong oxidizing or reducing agent;

(f) Causes first degree burns to skin in short time exposure, or is systematically toxic by skin contact; or

(g) In the course of normal operations, may produce dusts, gases, fumes, vapors, mists, or smokes that have one or more of the above characteristics.

(1) No chemical product, such as a solvent or preservative; no structural material, such as cadmium or zinc coated steel, or plastic material; and no process material, such as welding filler metal; which is a hazardous material may be used until you have ascertained the potential fire, toxic, or reactivity hazards which are likely to be encountered in the handling, application, or utilization of such a material.

(2) In order to ascertain the hazards, as required by subsection (1) of this section, you must obtain the following items of information which are applicable to a specific product or material to be used:

(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the source of the information specified in this section preferably those of the manufacturer of the product or material.

(b) The trade name and synonyms for a mixture of chemicals, a basic structural material, or for a process material; and the chemical name and synonyms, chemical family, and formula for a single chemical.

(c) Chemical names of hazardous ingredients including, but not limited to, those in mixtures, such as those in: (i) Paints, preservatives, and solvents; (ii) alloys, metallic coatings, filler metals and their coatings or core fluxes; and (iii) other liquids, solids, or gases (e.g., abrasive materials).

(d) An indication of the percentage, by weight or volume, which each ingredient of a mixture bears to the whole mixture, and of the threshold limit value of each ingredient, in appropriate units.

(e) Physical data about a single chemical or a mixture of chemicals, including boiling point, in degrees Fahrenheit; vapor pressure, in millimeters of mercury; vapor density of gas or vapor (air=1); solubility in water, in percent by weight; specific gravity of material (water=1); percentage volatile, by volume, at 70°F.; evaporation rate for liquids (either butyl acetate or ether may be taken as 1); and appearance and odor.

(f) Fire and explosion hazard data about a single chemical or a mixture of chemicals, including flashpoint, in degrees Fahrenheit; flammable limits, in percent by volume in air; suitable extinguishing media or agents; special firefighting procedures; and unusual fire and explosion hazard information.

(g) Health hazard data, including threshold limit value, in appropriate units, for a single hazardous chemical or for the individual hazardous ingredients of a mixture as appropriate, effects of overexposure; and emergency and first-aid procedures.

(h) Reactivity data, including stability, incompatibility, hazardous decomposition products, and hazardous polymerization.

(i) Procedures to be followed and precautions to be taken in cleaning up and disposing of materials leaked or spilled.

(j) Special protection information, including use of personal protective equipment, such as respirators, eye protection, and protective clothing, and of ventilation, such as local exhaust, general, special, or other types.

(k) Special precautionary information about handling and storing.

(l) Any other general precautionary information.

(3) The pertinent information required by subsection (2) of this section must be recorded either on United States Department of Labor Form LSB 00S-4, Material Safety Data Sheet, or on an essentially similar form which has been approved by the department of labor and industries. Copies of Form LSB 00S-4 may be obtained at any of the following regional offices of the occupational safety and health administration:

(a) Pacific region. (Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.) 10353 Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36017, San Francisco, Calif. 94102.

(b) Region X, OSHA, (Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon), 300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1280, Seattle, Washington 98104-2397.

A completed SDS form must be preserved and available for inspection for each hazardous chemical on the worksite.

(4) You must instruct employees who will be exposed to the hazardous materials as to the nature of the hazards and the means of avoiding them.

(5) You must provide all necessary controls, and the employees must be protected by suitable personal protective equipment against the hazards identified under this section and those hazards for which specific precautions are required in WAC 296-304-020 through 296-304-04013.

(6) You must provide adequate washing facilities for employees engaged in the application of paints or coatings or in other operations where contaminants can, by ingestion or absorption, be detrimental to the health of the employees. You must encourage good personal hygiene practices by informing the employees of the need for removing surface contaminants by thorough washing of hands and face prior to eating or smoking.

(7) You must not permit eating or smoking in areas undergoing surface preparation or preservation or where shiprepairing, shipbuilding, or shipbreaking operations produce atmospheric contamination.

(8) You must not permit employees to work in the immediate vicinity of uncovered garbage and must ensure that employees working beneath or on the outboard side of a vessel are not subject to contamination by drainage or waste from overboard discharges.

(9) Requirements of WAC 296-901-140, Hazard communication, will apply to shiprepairing, shipbuilding, and shipbreaking when potential hazards of chemicals and communicating information concerning hazards and appropriate protective equipment is applicable to an operation.

PDFWAC 296-304-06013

Hazardous materials.