As Oregon OSHA pursues updates to its hazard communication requirements, in line with federal OSHA changes, the division presents this Resource’s Incident Alert as a reminder of the real-world consequences of failing to follow the requirements.
The reminder comes by way of a July 2017 incident in which an employee at a commercial cannabis farm in Eagle Point drank a toxic product – “pH Up” – from a secondary container next to a water mixing tank. The incident hospitalized the worker in a burn unit for a week.
The incident occurred toward the end of the work day, during the afternoon, in hot weather, with the worker apparently thirsty, according to Oregon OSHA’s investigation. Before the incident, the worker had been watering crops in the field. The employer had several hazardous chemical products on site that were used by employees.
The worker who was the victim approached the pH Up secondary container – which was inadequately labeled – picked it up, and drank a small portion of the toxic, corrosive chemical.
Following its investigation, Oregon OSHA cited the employer for eight serious violations. Most of the violations were grouped because they were interrelated. Four of the violations stemmed from hazard communication infractions. The other four involved safety committee insufficiencies. The hazard communication violations were:
- Failure to implement an effective written hazard communication program that included a description of the procedures or methods for meeting the requirements, including labels and other forms of warning; safety data sheets; and employee information and training.
- Did not give employees effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area when they were assigned their job, or when a new physical or health hazard was introduced to their work area.
- Failure to ensure each container of hazardous chemicals was labeled, tagged, or marked with either the same elements required on the shipped label, or the product identifier that allows cross-referencing with the product's safety data sheet.
- Did not have a safety data sheet (SDS) for each hazardous chemical that was used or present in the workplace.
The violations cited by Oregon OSHA involved Oregon Administrative Rule 437-004-9800, which addresses hazard communication rules for agricultural employers.
All of the division’s free resources about hazard communication are available on its A-to-Z topic page. Resources include guides, fact sheets, checklists, and online training in Spanish and English.
Employers may use Oregon OSHA’s free consultation or technical services to request a program evaluation or to ask questions to clarify requirements for their jobsites.