Working with chemicals can be hazardous. People who are exposed to hazardous substances may be at risk for many serious health problems which could lead to kidney or lung damage, allergic reactions, burns, sterility, or cancer. Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS, pronounced WI-miss) provides health and safety information about hazardous materials. The system teaches what a product's hazards are, how we can protect themselves from exposure, and what to do in case of an emergency or a spill.

For every chemical we handle, we should read and have a general understanding of:

• the supplier label that is on the bottle and
• the Material Safety Datasheets that are shipped with the chemical.

Supplier labels contain hazard symbols. There are 8 hazard symbols. Put your mouse over the symbol to get more information on these symbols.

A Material Safety Datasheet is information about a specific chemical.

Identity	name of the chemical product
Hazardous ingredients	What chemicals are in the mixture?
Physical and chemical characteristics	odor, color, etc.
Fire and explosion data	Will it catch on fire?
Reactivity data	Will it react with other chemicals?
Toxicological Health hazard data	How can the chemical get into your body and how can it affect your health?
Safe-Handling Procedures	What is the correct way to use and dispose of the chemical?
Control Measures	How can you protect yourself against the hazards of the chemical?

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WHMIS - Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System is a system that provides health and safety information about the workplace hazardous materials.

supplier labels - These labels are found on the containers to identify the product, hazards and precautionary measures.

MSDS - Material Safety Datasheets provides specific hazard information, safe handling information and emergency procedures of treatment.

2. Who is responsible for ensuring that controlled products used, stored, handled or disposed of in the workplace are properly labelled?

3. What does HPA stand for and what is it?

4. Define the following terms:

flammable

combustible

infectious

corrosive.

WHMIS at work booklet

MSDS of Isopropyl alcohol