ACD Press Release

Arlington, VA – Yesterday, National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Jennifer C. Gibson testified before the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding proposed changes to the administration’s Hazard Communication Standard.

“Revisions to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) have a huge impact on NACD members. Chemical distributors serve a critical role in the middle of the supply chain, and these companies have large numbers of suppliers, products, and customers. Changing safety data sheets and labels for thousands of chemical products is a major undertaking for distributors."

“While NACD agrees with OSHA’s objective to harmonize the HCS with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals and supports some of the agency’s proposed changes, we have serious concerns about others. Some of the proposed changes are not necessary for harmonization and would create excessive burdens for chemical manufacturers and distributors without providing comparable, if any, worker protections.

“NACD appreciates the opportunity to provide input on OSHA’s proposed revisions to the Hazard Communication Standard. These changes will have a substantial impact on chemical distributors, and NACD encourages OSHA to consider seriously the issues and concerns, including commercial confusion likely to result from the new proposed definitions for “bulk shipment” and “released for shipment,” requiring new labels with dates for every different product shipment date, inadequate implementation time, and others raised in our testimony and written comments.”

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