WHMIS basics

WHMIS, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, is Canada's system for communicating the hazards of chemicals and other hazardous products at work. It has three parts: labels on containers, safety data sheets (SDSs) that give detailed information, and worker education and training. The current system is aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

Who is responsible for what

WHMIS is shared between federal and provincial law:

• Suppliers (manufacturers, importers and distributors) fall under the federal Hazardous Products Act and Hazardous Products Regulations. They must classify their products, label them and provide an SDS.
• Employers fall under provincial or territorial OHS law (or the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated workplaces). They must make sure hazardous products are labelled, SDSs are available, and workers are trained.
• Workers must take part in training, follow safe work practices and report missing or damaged labels.

Labels

Supplier labels

A supplier label comes on the product as purchased. It includes:

• The product identifier (name).
• Hazard pictograms.
• A signal word: "Danger" for more severe hazards, "Warning" for less severe.
• Hazard statements describing the nature of the hazard.
• Precautionary statements on prevention, response, storage and disposal.
• Supplier identifier and contact information.

Labels must be in English and French.

Workplace labels

Workplace labels are needed when a product is decanted into another container, when the supplier label is lost or unreadable, or when a product is made at the workplace. They must show the product identifier, safe handling information and a reference to the SDS. Provincial rules set out when a workplace label is required and some exemptions, for example a container used immediately by the person who filled it.

Pictograms

WHMIS uses red-bordered diamond pictograms to show hazard classes at a glance. The main ones:

Safety data sheets

An SDS has 16 sections in a set order, covering identification, hazards, composition, first aid, firefighting, accidental release, handling and storage, exposure controls and PPE, physical and chemical properties, stability and reactivity, toxicology and other information. The sections most useful to workers on the floor are usually the hazard identification, first aid, handling and storage, accidental release and exposure controls sections.

Employers must keep an SDS for each hazardous product and make it readily available to workers, on paper or electronically, as long as workers know how to get to it and it is available without delay. Suppliers must update SDSs when significant new information becomes available, so check that you have the current version when products are reordered.

Worker education and training

WHMIS training has two parts. General education covers how the system works: labels, pictograms and SDSs. Workplace-specific training covers the hazardous products workers actually use, the procedures for handling, storing and disposing of them, what to do in an emergency, and how to find the SDS. Provincial rules require training to be reviewed at least annually or when conditions change, and employers should check that workers understood it, not just that they attended.

WHMIS training complements, but does not replace, training on the controls themselves, such as ventilation, respiratory protection and PPE. Keep records; see keeping safety training records.

Checking your WHMIS program, step by step

A practical review of a site's WHMIS program can be done in an afternoon for a small workplace, and it usually turns up something worth fixing. Work through it in this order:

1. Walk the site and list every hazardous product. Check storerooms, janitor closets, maintenance shops, mechanical rooms, vehicles and the back of shelves. Record the product name, supplier, location and rough quantity.
2. Remove what is not needed. Old, unused or unknown products are a hazard with no benefit. Dispose of them properly.
3. Match an SDS to every remaining product. Confirm it is the supplier's current version and that the product name on the SDS matches the label.
4. Check every container. Supplier labels intact and readable; decanted containers such as spray bottles and safety cans carry a workplace label.
5. Test SDS access. Ask a worker on each shift to find the SDS for a product they use. Time how long it takes. If it is electronic, check it works when the network or the office is unavailable.
6. Review training. Confirm workers had general education and training on the specific products they use, and that the annual review happened. Ask a few workers what a pictogram on their product means.
7. Record and fix. Note each gap, assign it, and set a date.

Gaps that come up often

• Spray bottles of cleaner with no label at all, filled from a bulk container.
• An SDS binder that has not been updated since the products changed.
• Contractors bringing their own products onto site without sharing SDSs.
• Training records showing general WHMIS only, with nothing on site-specific products.
• Workers who can describe the pictograms but not the first aid steps for the product they use every day.

Contractors are a common blind spot. Ask them for the SDSs of anything they bring on site, and tell them about your products they could be exposed to. See managing contractor safety.

Products outside WHMIS

Some products are covered by other laws instead of WHMIS supplier requirements, such as consumer products, pest control products, explosives, cosmetics and some others. Employers still have OHS duties for these products if they are hazardous at work, so workers still need information and training. Check the current exclusions in your provincial rules.

How ehZee can help

ehZee helps employers review their WHMIS programs, including product inventories, SDS management, labelling and training, as part of a wider safety program. See safety program development and review.

Common questions