The third component of WHMIS is worker education and training. The information provided by labels and SDSs will be of little use unless workers can understand it and apply it through training.

Employer Responsibilities

Employers are required to provide a training program that ensures workers understand WHMIS and the hazards associated with the hazardous products they use or may be exposed to in their workplace.

Education programs about WHMIS must be followed up with job-specific training in safe work procedures for handling, storing, and disposing of hazardous products. Worker representatives or the health and safety committee must be consulted in developing, implementing, and reviewing education and training programs.

Difference Between Education and Training

WHMIS education explains how WHMIS works, what an SDS is, what information is on a WHMIS label, and other information about WHMIS. WHMIS training refers to hands-on, job-specific training. Training shows individuals how to work safely with the hazardous products in a particular workplace.

Education

Worker education must include instruction in the content, purpose, and significance of workplace and supplier labels and SDSs. Workers can be educated through classroom instruction or by using videos or computer programs. Education courses can be offered on-site by employers, through contracted specialized companies, or through continuing studies at a local training facility. WHMIS education can also be completed and tested online.

Certification

Some industries, such as construction, offer WHMIS “cards” or “certificates” to participants who complete their WHMIS education program. Such cards and certificates are useful for workers who move regularly from site to site, enabling them to prove to new employers that they have attended WHMIS education sessions. However, job-specific training at each work site is still required for all workers who work with or near hazardous products.

Job-Specific Training

Employees must be trained in the procedures specific to their workplace. These include:

• Which hazardous products workers could be exposed to in their workplace
• How to store, handle, use, or dispose of hazardous products
• Emergency procedures in the event of an accident or spill

Implementing WHMIS in the Workplace

To implement the WHMIS program and develop written safe work procedures, employers make use of supplier labels and SDSs, as well as their own knowledge of the hazardous properties of products and their use in the workplace. The following sections outline the main hazards associated with products in the two hazard groups.

Hazardous Properties for the Physical Hazard Classes

This list shows the main concerns for the 18 hazard classes found in the physical hazard grouping.

Table 1. Hazardous Properties for the Physical Hazard Classes

Hazard Class	Hazardous Properties
Flammable gases Flammable aerosols Flammable liquids Flammable solids	These classes of products have the ability to ignite (catch fire) easily. The main hazards are fire or explosion.
Oxidizing gases Oxidizing liquids Oxidizing solids	These classes of products are oxidizers, which may cause or intensify a fire or cause an explosion.
Gases under pressure	This class includes compressed gases, liquefied gases, dissolved gases, and refrigerated liquefied gases. Compressed gases, liquefied gases, and dissolved gases are hazardous because of the high pressure inside the cylinder or container. The cylinder or container may explode if heated. Refrigerated liquefied gases are very cold and can cause severe cold (cryogenic) burns or injury.
Self-reactive substances and mixtures	These products may react on their own to cause a fire or explosion, or may cause a fire or explosion if heated.
Pyrophoric liquids Pyrophoric solids Pyrophoric gases	These products can catch fire very quickly (spontaneously) if exposed to air.
Self-heating substances and mixtures	These products may catch fire if exposed to air. These products differ from pyrophoric liquids or solids in that they ignite only after a longer period of time or when present in large amounts.
Organic peroxides	These products may cause a fire or explosion if heated.
Corrosive to metals	These products may chemically damage or destroy metals.
Combustible dust	This class is used to warn of products that are finely divided solid particles. If dispersed in air, the particles may catch fire or explode if ignited.
Simple asphyxiants	These products are gases that may displace oxygen in air and cause rapid suffocation.
Physical hazards not otherwise classified	This class covers physical hazards that are not included in any other physical hazard class. These hazards occur as a result of a  chemical reaction and may result in serious injury or death at the time the reaction occurs. If a product is classified in this class, the hazard statement on the label and SDS will describe the nature of the hazard.

Hazardous Properties for the Health Hazard Classes

This list shows the main concerns for the 12 hazard classes found in the health hazard grouping.

Table 2. Hazardous Properties for the Health Hazard Classes

Hazard Class	Hazardous Properties
Acute toxicity	These products are fatal, toxic, or harmful if inhaled, following skin contact, or if swallowed. Acute toxicity refers to effects occurring following skin contact or ingestion from a single dose, or multiple doses given within 24 hours, or an inhalation exposure of up to four hours. Acute toxicity may result from exposure to the product itself or from a product that releases a toxic gas when it comes into contact with water.
Skin corrosion/irritation	Products in this class cause severe skin burns (corrosion) and/or skin irritation.
Serious eye damage/eye irritation	Products in this class cause serious eye damage (i.e., corrosion) and/or eye irritation.
Respiratory or skin sensitization	A respiratory sensitizer is a product that may cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled. A skin sensitizer is a product that may cause an allergic skin reaction.
Germ cell mutagenicity	This class includes products that may cause or are suspected of causing genetic defects (permanent changes (mutations) to body cells that can be passed on to future generations.
Carcinogenicity	This class includes products that may cause or are suspected of causing cancer.
Reproductive toxicity	This class includes products that may damage or are suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child (baby). Note: There is an additional category that includes products that may cause harm to breast-fed children.
Specific target organ toxicity— single exposure	This class covers products that cause or may cause damage to organs (e.g., liver, kidneys, or blood) following a single exposure. This class also includes a category for products that cause respiratory irritation, drowsiness, or dizziness.
Specific target organ toxicity— repeated exposure	This class covers products that cause or may cause damage to organs (e.g., liver, kidneys, or blood) following prolonged or repeated exposure.
Aspiration hazard	This class is for products that may be fatal if they are swallowed and enter the airways.
Biohazardous infectious materials	These materials are microorganisms, nucleic acids or proteins that cause or are probable cause of infection, with or without toxicity, in humans or animals.
Health hazards not otherwise classified	This class covers products that are not included in any other health hazard class. These hazards have the characteristic of occurring following acute or repeated exposure and have an adverse effect on the health of a person exposed to it—including an injury or resulting in the death of that person. If a product is classified in this class, the hazard statement will describe the nature of the hazard.

Written Safe Work Procedures

Employers are required to write safe work procedures as safety guidelines for workers who will handle hazardous products. Safe work procedures address the specific hazards of the hazardous product and how it is safely used in the workplace. The written procedure must contain enough detail to provide clear direction to authorized workers.

The following steps outline the written safe work procedure to be used by authorized workers for clean-up of small spills of acetone (about one litre) for a particular work site.

Safe Work Procedure for Clean-Up of Acetone Spills

1. Extinguish and control all ignition sources, including electrical services, open flames, and electrostatic discharge.
2. Evacuate workers to the designated safe location.
3. Report the spill to your supervisor.
4. Get the waste containers and spill cart.
5. Put on the respirator, butyl rubber gloves, and safety goggles.
6. Clean up the acetone using chemical absorbent pillows from the spill cart according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
7. Do not flush or rinse the spilled acetone into the sewer system.
8. Place used absorbent pillows (containing acetone) in designated waste containers.
9. Dispose of used chemical absorbent pillows according to local waste disposal procedures.

General Precautions When Using Common Hazardous Materials

Employers should take note of the following general precautions:

• Some common materials are considered safe to use under normal operation but may change to hazardous materials under certain conditions. These include fresh concrete, pressure-treated wood, contact cement, paints, and cleaners.
• Some substances are flammable as well as toxic. Use products such as contact cement and certain paints that are highly flammable in well-ventilated work areas that contain no open flame.
• Many substances are harmless by themselves, but when combined, they release toxic fumes. Two common household cleaning agents, ammonia and bleach, when mixed together will produce toxic chlorine gas. It is best not to mix any chemicals found on the job site unless you are absolutely certain that the combined mixture will not be harmful.
• Sometimes chemical changes are triggered by heat or radiation. The ultraviolet radiation from a welding operation can transform the vapours of many common solvents into the deadly gas phosgene. Many plastics and vinyl resins are harmless in their normal state but give off a highly toxic smoke when burned.
• Many paints and cleaners come in aerosol cans that use pressure to release their contents. These cans should not be kept near heat or exposed to flames. Empty cans should be disposed of properly, never burned. The containers are explosive and the residual contents are often highly flammable.
• Charges for powder-actuated tools are often used in shops and on construction sites, and are potentially dangerous. These products are supplied in plastic strips or plastic boxes. Live charges that are dropped on the floor or strips discarded with live charges in them can be dangerous. If sweepings and garbage are burned on the site, the charges will explode when heated, which could injure anyone near the fire.

Read WHMIS 2015: At Work from WorkSafeBC, which provides an overview of WHMIS 2015, explains the key changes from the original WHMIS, outlines its four main elements, and describes the roles of suppliers, employers, and workers in safely managing hazardous products.

You may also watch the videos WHMIS 2015 for Workers (WHMIS video series) [4:11] and WHMIS 2015 for Employers [5:37] by WorkSafeBC (2015-a,b) on YouTube.

Self-Test A-3.6: Explain WHMIS Education and Training

Complete Self-Test A-3.6 and check your answers.

References

BC Industry Training Authority. (2019). Piping trades apprenticeship program: Perform safety related functions—Level 1 harmonized [Binder]. Crown Publications, Queen’s Printer for British Columbia. https://www.crownpub.bc.ca/Product/Details/7960000260_S

Camosun College. (2015). Line A: Safe Work Practices — Competency A-3: Handle Hazardous Materials Safely (BCcampus). https://collection.bccampus.ca/textbook/PMfB6kHM/

Camosun College. (2015). Trades Access Common Core Competency A-3: Handle Hazardous Materials Safely. Victoria, B.C.: Crown Publications. Download for free from the B.C. Open Textbook Collection (https://open.bccampus.ca/browse-ourcollection/find-open-textbooks/).

WorkSafeBC. (2015, September). WHMIS at work: WHMIS 2015. https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-safety/whmis/whmis-work-2015

WorkSafeBC. (2015, December 23). WHMIS 2015 for Employers (WHMIS video series) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j30RtmFYag8

WorkSafeBC. (2015, December 23). WHMIS 2015 for Workers (WHMIS video series) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/NRKFc4DMFH0

Media Attributions

All figures are sourced from Industry Training Authority (2019) and/or Camosun College (2019) and are used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence unless otherwise noted. Images copyrighted by the BC Industry Training Authority are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.