Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". Section 5(a)(2) requires employers to "comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act".

Note: Twenty-four states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these States adopt standards that are identical to Federal OSHA. However, some States have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

General Industry (29 CFR 1910)

• 1910 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances [related topic page]
  • 1910.1200, Hazard communication
    • Appendix A, Health hazard definitions (Mandatory)
    • Appendix B, Hazard determination (Mandatory)
    • Appendix C, Information sources (Advisory)
    • Appendix D, Definition of "trade secret" (Mandatory)
    • Appendix E, Guidelines for employer compliance (Advisory)
  • 1910.1201, Retention of DOT markings, placards and labels

Shipyard Employment (29 CFR 1915)

• 1915 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances
  • 1915.1200, Hazard communication. See 29 CFR 1910.1200.

Marine Terminals (29 CFR 1917)

• 1917 Subpart B, Marine terminal operations
  • 1917.28, Hazard communication. See 29 CFR 1910.1200.
    • Appendix E, Guidelines for employer compliance (Advisory)

Longshoring (29 CFR 1918)

• 1918 Subpart I, General working conditions
  • 1918.90, Hazard communication. See 29 CFR 1910.1200.

Construction Industry (29 CFR 1926)

• 1926 Subpart D, Occupational health and environmental controls
  • 1926.59, Hazard communication. See 29 CFR 1910.1200.

• Hazard Communication (1994)
• Search all available preambles to final rules.

• Inspection Procedures for the Hazard Communication Standard. CPL 02-02-038 [CPL 2-2.38D], (1998, March 20). Additional information is provided in a 87 KB PPT^*, 31 slides.
• Search all available directives on hazard communication.

• Training programs for the Control of Hazardous Energy (LOTO) and for the Hazard Communication standard are not satisfied solely by merely providing employees written documentation. (2005, October 24).
• Requirements for maintaining Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) for coal including coal dust, fly ash, and silica dust. (2005, April 27).
• Requirements for maintaining material safety data sheets (MSDSs) for consumer art products and office cleaning products. (2005, April 14).
• Requirement to disclose all chemicals having scientific evidence that they pose a health risk regardless of concentrations present in the product on the MSDS. (2005, April 4).
• MSDS's must be provided to employees who package/process drugs for distribution into final form if they contain hazardous chemicals. (2005, February 8).
• Clarification of systems for electronic access to MSDSs. (1999, February 18). Provides an explanation of the Hazard Communication Standard related to MSDSs.
• Search all available standard interpretations on hazard communication.