WHMIS: What is it?

Notice to the reader :
On February 11, 2015, the Government of Canada announced the coming into force of the Hazardous Products Regulations, which incorporates the GHS in WHMIS 1988. A transition period of approximatively three years is provided during wich both systems, WHMIS 1988 and WHMIS 2015, will co-exist.
The following information concerns WHMIS 1988.

WHMIS: What is it?

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

A Canada-wide system in which suppliers, employers and workers each have their own responsibilities.

WHMIS is there to protect the health and safety of workers by promoting access to information on hazardous materials used in the workplace.

Role of suppliers, employers and workers

Suppliers
The suppliers who manufacture, import, distribute or sell hazardous materials have to :

determine which of their products are controlled products
obtain information about their controlled products, prepare and provide this information in the form of labels and material safety data sheets
update the information on their controlled products every three years or as soon as there is new information about them.

Employers
The employers who purchase, use or manufacture controlled products have to :

ensure that all controlled products (purchased, produced on site or decanted) are properly labeled
obtain updated material safety data sheets from the supplier or produce them themselves for the controlled products manufactured on site
collaborate in the development of a training and information program on the controlled products and ensure that it is updated annually
ensure that employees are trained and informed and that the acquired knowledge is put into practice.

Workers
The workers who use controlled products at work have to :

participate in the training and information program on controlled products
take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their coworkers
participate in identifying and eliminating risks.

A system governed by laws

WHMIS is governed by federal and provincial laws and regulations. Any person supplying or using controlled products must comply with it.

Suppliers are governed by federal legislation, specifically the Hazardous Products Act (part II) and the Controlled Products Regulation.

Employers are governed by provincial legislation, specifically the Act respecting occupational health and safety (article 62) as well as the Regulation respecting information on controlled products.

Any questions?

You don't know whether the products that you supply or use are controlled products? You want to know more about the laws and regulation? You want to set up a training program for your employees?

Do not hesitate to contact :

Your regional CSST office
The CSST's Répertoire toxicologique
Your joint sector-based association
Your CLSC (occupational health team)

A system that defines six classes of "controlled" products

WHMIS divides hazardous materials into six main classes based on their specific hazards. If a product corresponds to one or more of these classes, it becomes a "controlled" product.

**Six classes of "controlled" products**
Classes	Definitions	Examples
A : Compressed gases	Products held under pressure	Oxygene Propane
B : Flammable and combustible materials B1 : Flammable gases B2 : Flammable liquids B3 : Combustible liquids B4 : Flammable solids B5 : Flammable aerosols B6 : Reactive flammable materials	Products that will burn or catch on fire easily	Propane Acetone Kerosene Magnesium Sodium
C : Oxidizing materials	Products that can cause or promote combustion of another material (whether or not they are themselves combustible) or products that are organic peroxides	Hydrogen peroxide Nitric acid
D1 : Materials causing immediate and serious toxic effects	Products that can rapidly cause harmful health effects, including death	Carbon monoxide Phenol
D2 : Materials causing other toxic effects	Products whose health effects generally appear over time following one or several exposures	Benzene Diisocyanates Lead
D3 : Biohazardous infectious materials	Living organisms or their toxins that can cause disease in people or animals	AIDS virus Hepatitis B virus Rabies virus
E : Corrosive materials	Products that can corrode metal surfaces or cause burns to skin	Caustic soda Hydrochloric acid Bleach
F : Dangerously reactive materials	Products that can be health or safety hazards under certain conditons (pressure, temperature, impact, violent reaction with water or air)	Fluorine Hydrogen cyanide B-Chloroprene