Complying with WHMIS has been an ongoing mission to ensure safety within the workplace when working alongside hazardous materials. Compliance for WHMIS has been split up into 3 phases, and phase 3 commences on September 1. Are you ready? Here are phases 1 and 2 summarized, as phase 2 is drawing to a near close:
Phase 1: February 11, 2015 to May 31, 2018
- Suppliers who are chemical manufacturers or importers may sell hazardous products with either the old WHMIS labels and safety data sheets or the new ones.
- Employers may receive and use hazardous products with either the old WHMIS labels and safety data sheets or the new ones.
Phase 2: June 1, 2018 to August 31, 2018
- Chemical manufacturers and importers must sell hazardous products with labels and safety data sheets that comply with the new WHMIS 2015 requirements.
- Suppliers who are chemical distributors may continue to sell hazardous products with either the old WHMIS labels and safety data sheets or the new ones.
- Employers may continue to receive and use hazardous products with either the old WHMIS labels and safety data sheets or the new ones.
With the completion of phase 2, phase 3 will commence soon after, lasting from September 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018, whereby the transition to WHMIS 2015 must be complete for all manufactures, importers, distributors, suppliers and employers. By this time, there should be no hazardous products in the workplace with old WHMIS labels and safety data sheets.
During phase 3:
- Employers should only be receiving hazardous products with WHMIS 2015 labels and safety data sheets.
- Employers will have the final three months to bring their existing inventories of hazardous products into compliance with WHMIS 2015.
Ensure your due diligence in maintaining compliance with WHMIS by noting these crucial dates and completing the necessary steps!
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