I attended a trade show for the Scuba industry in Dallas, TX last week. After walking around and talking all weekend, I was amazed by the amount of dive operations that either did not know about OSHA requirements to train employees on the new OSHA HAZCOM/GHS system, or had not done it yet. For those not aware, OSHA revised their Hazardous Communications standard to reflect the new Global Harmonization Standards (GHS) and required all businesses that handle hazardous materials to provide training to their employees no later than 1 December, 2013. GHS now mandates the format for Safety Data Sheets. Additionally, it now includes new safety pictograms to highlight chemical hazards. For those that have not completed this training, that means you are year out of date. Many people in the compressed gas industry are not aware that they deal in HAZMAT. To answer an often asked question, yes, any compressed gas, no matter what it is, is considered HAZMAT when it is stored at pressures over 40psig. This is easily remedied though. Just do a Google search online and one will find different options for training. These options run from free, to over $1000, depending on what route you want to take. American Cylinder and Safety, LLC, in partnership with Professional Scuba Inspectors-Professional Cylinder Inspectors (PSI-PCI) has a great program that is both inexpensive, and covers the necessary information in a short period of time. Our program is designed so that your employees can complete it on thier own time as long as they have access to a computer. Please, protect your employees, and your wallet from potential incidents, accidents, and fines. Feel free to contact me, and I can help answer any questions you may have.
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