subject: What is the difference between a supplier label under WHMIS and a workplace label? [print this page] What is the difference between a supplier label under WHMIS and a workplace label?
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) requires labels on controlled materials from the supplier and at the workplace. Health and safety officers may check the containers of controlled products in your workplace to ensure they have supplier labels with the special hatched border (illustrated in Appendix II). These labels must have the following information enclosed in the border:
a product identifier
a hazard symbol or symbols to correspond to risk phrases (standard pictograms for WHMIS)
risk phrases describing the nature of the hazard and possible consequences of product misuses (e.g. eye irritant
precautionary measures to be taken to ensure the safe use of the product (e.g. keep away from acids)
first aid measures (e.g. in case of skin contact, flush immediately with plenty of water)
a supplier identifier
a reference to the Material Safety Data Sheet (e.g. see MSDS)
Any containers that have a quantity of 100 mL or less need to only display a product identifier, the hazard symbol(s), the supplier identifier and some reference to the MSDS. All supplier labels must be in English and French.
Workplace labels must contain the following information:
clearly identify the product
identify essential information for safe use and handling of the product
indicate whether a MSDS is available (ex. if a consumer product is being used, a MSDS may not be available)
Contrary to the supplier label, the workplace label is performance oriented and therefore, its appearance, wording and arrangement are not restricted. Regardless, the workplace label must provide enough information to depict the precautions that must be taken to prevent injuries or accidents. Word, symbols, or other modes of communication can be used to convey the possible health and environmental hazards, but it must be combined with worker education to make certain that the worker has all the necessary information for safe handling and storage of the chemical.
