Lesson 1: What WHMIS is and who does what
WHMIS stands for the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. It is Canada's system for giving workers health and safety information about hazardous products they use, handle or store at work. WHMIS first became law in 1988. It is now lined up with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), used around the world.
WHMIS has four main parts: classifying hazards, labels, safety data sheets (SDSs) and worker education and training.
Who makes the rules
- The federal Hazardous Products Act and Hazardous Products Regulations set the rules for suppliers. Health Canada oversees these laws.
- Each province and territory sets WHMIS rules for workplaces in its occupational health and safety (OHS) laws, and its OHS agency enforces them. The federal Labour Program does this for federally regulated workplaces.
Who does what
| Who | Main WHMIS duties |
|---|---|
| Suppliers (manufacturers, importers, distributors) | Classify hazardous products and provide labels and SDSs |
| Employers | Educate and train workers, make sure products are labelled, keep SDSs available, make workplace labels and control hazards |
| Workers | Take part in training, follow safe work procedures, protect themselves and others, and help find and control hazards |
Good training lets you answer four questions about every hazardous product you work with: What are the hazards? How do I protect myself? What do I do in an emergency? Where do I get more information?
Some products are covered by other laws instead of the WHMIS label and SDS rules. Examples are consumer products sold in stores for home use (Canada Consumer Product Safety Act), pest control products (Pest Control Products Act), explosives, and cosmetics, drugs and food. Your employer must still train you to use them safely.
Lesson 2: Hazard groups and pictograms
WHMIS sorts hazards into two groups. Physical hazards come from a product's physical or chemical properties, such as flammability, reactivity or being corrosive to metals. Health hazards are effects on the body, such as eye irritation or cancer.
Each group is split into hazard classes, and each class has one or more categories. Category 1 is always the most hazardous level in its class. Category 2 is more hazardous than Category 3, and so on. Gases under pressure are an exception: their categories describe the form of the gas.
The WHMIS pictograms
Most pictograms are a black symbol inside a red square set on one of its points, like a diamond.
| Pictogram | What it can mean |
|---|---|
| Flame | Flammable gases, liquids and solids, aerosols, and products that can catch fire on their own |
| Flame over circle | Oxidizing gases, liquids and solids |
| Gas cylinder | Gases under pressure |
| Corrosion | Corrosive to metals, skin corrosion and serious eye damage |
| Exploding bomb | Self-reactive substances and organic peroxides (Types A and B) |
| Skull and crossbones | Acute toxicity that can be fatal or toxic (Categories 1 to 3) |
| Health hazard | Cancer, respiratory sensitizers, harm to reproduction or organs, aspiration hazard |
| Exclamation mark | Skin or eye irritation, skin sensitizers and less severe acute toxicity |
| Biohazardous infectious materials | Biohazardous infectious materials (Category 1) |
Flame Flame over circle Gas cylinder Corrosion Exploding bomb Skull and crossbones Health hazard Exclamation mark Biohazardous infectious materials
A few classes have no pictogram, such as flammable liquids Category 4 and combustible dusts. Their labels still need a signal word and hazard statements.
Lesson 3: Supplier and workplace labels
Supplier labels
The supplier puts this label on the product it sells. It must be in English and French and include:
- Product identifier: the product's name
- Initial supplier identifier: the name, address and phone number of the Canadian manufacturer or importer
- Pictograms
- Signal word: "Danger" for more severe hazards or "Warning" for less severe ones
- Hazard statements: standard phrases that describe the hazard
- Precautionary statements: standard phrases on how to prevent or reduce harm, including first aid, storage and disposal
The pictogram, signal word and hazard statements must be grouped together. The hatched (slashed) border from WHMIS 1988 is no longer required.
Workplace labels
A workplace label is needed when:
- a hazardous product is made at the workplace and used there
- a product is poured (decanted) into another container
- a supplier label is lost or cannot be read
A workplace label shows the product name (matching the SDS), safe handling precautions and a reference to the SDS, if one is available. The exact rules depend on your province or territory.
If you pour a product into a container and use it right away, or you are the only one who will use it and you use it up during your shift, a full label may not be needed. The container must still show the product name. If others will use it, or it will be left for later, it needs a full workplace label.
Lesson 4: Safety data sheets
A safety data sheet (SDS) gives detailed information about a hazardous product. Every SDS has 16 sections in the same order. Suppliers must provide it in English and French.
| Section | What you find there |
|---|---|
| 1. Identification | Product name, supplier and an emergency phone number |
| 2. Hazard identification | Hazard classes and categories, pictograms, signal word and statements |
| 4. First-aid measures | First aid for each route of exposure |
| 5. Fire-fighting measures | Which extinguishers to use and which to avoid |
| 6. Accidental release measures | How to contain and clean up spills |
| 7. Handling and storage | Safe handling and storage, and materials to keep apart |
| 8. Exposure controls/personal protection | Exposure limits, controls and personal protective equipment (PPE) |
| 16. Other information | The date of the latest revision |
Using an SDS
- Match the product name on the container to the name in Section 1.
- Read Section 2 to learn the hazards.
- Read Section 7 for safe handling and storage, and Section 8 for PPE.
- Know where to find Sections 4, 5 and 6 before an emergency happens.
Your employer must keep up-to-date SDSs readily available to exposed workers and to the health and safety committee or representative. SDSs may be kept on a computer if all workers can reach the system and are trained to use it, the devices are kept working, and a paper copy is given on request.
When a supplier learns significant new information about a product, it must update the SDS within 90 days and the label within 180 days.
Lesson 5: Training and your part
WHMIS has two kinds of instruction. Education is general information that applies anywhere, such as how labels and SDSs work. Training is site-specific and job-specific: the products, procedures and emergency plans at your own workplace.
Every workplace with hazardous products must have a WHMIS program. Employers must educate and train workers who use, store, handle or dispose of hazardous products, workers who may be exposed, their supervisors, and workers involved in emergency response. Employers should review the program at least once a year and give refresher training when products, hazards or conditions change.
When you change jobs, your general WHMIS knowledge goes with you. Your new employer decides what education you need and must give you training for that workplace. The employer stays responsible even when an outside company delivers the training.
Your WHMIS checklist
- Check the label before you use any product.
- Never use a product with no label or an unreadable label.
- Wear the PPE that the SDS and your employer require.
- Label any container you fill that others will use or that you will leave.
- Ask your supervisor if you are unsure about use, storage or labelling.