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Disney, Dwarfs and Workplace Labels

By February 5, 2016September 10th, 2020Safety, WHMIS 2015, OSHA HazCom

It was recently announced that Disney was re-releasing the classic animated movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The commercial started with the dwarfs singing their classic song “Heigh-Ho”. In this tune, the cute characters of Dopey, Bashful, Sneezy, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy and Doc all sing about coming home from working all day digging in the mine. To remember these characters, watch and listen here.

As the scene starts, I can’t help but notice there are no OSHA workplace labels anywhere. In the new OSHA Hazard Communications Standard 1910.1200 there isn’t much guidance on how to handle workplace labeling. The regulation states “the employer shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals in the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked”. The regulation goes on to say use the same information that is found on the shipped containers or use a “Product identifier and words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical.”

Many Employers may feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what to have in a workplace after reading the regulation. Let us help. We offer the GHS Workplace Labels (Orange System).

Orange System GHS Workplace Labels Available in 3 Styles

This is a symbol-based system designed to avoid language barriers. The details are easy to read and alerts workers to the hazards of the chemicals they are handling.

You’ll notice each style has the same basic format. There is a space for the name of the chemical and a way to indicate the signal word for that chemical. Doc Dwarf is happy about seeing sections dedicated to the health and physical hazards. In fact there are two distinct locations for physical hazards allowing for a more precise classification of the physical hazards of your chemical(s). The section dedicated to Personal Protective Equipment is greatly appreciated by Sneezy Dwarf. Now he can know whether or not a respirator is required when working with a given chemical.

Happy Dwarf is excited by this system for a few reasons. First of all, there are also various size options along with the choice for paper or vinyl that can be used for these labels. Also there are over 100 stock workplace labels pre-printed and ready to use. Some of these chemicals are Acetone, Gasoline, Benzene and others. For the full list of stock classified chemicals click here. This system even has an Implementation Manual, a Training Manual and posters to help get all of your employees up to speed, even Sleepy Dwarf.

When used together the simplicity of this system is enough to keep the Dwarfs Dopey and Bashful from getting into trouble.

So don’t be Grumpy Dwarf when it is time to update your workplace labeling. Let ICC The Compliance Center make it easy to do.

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