Inventories

Inventories of hazardous substances have always been one of those things that you should have, and it would be hard to manage what you have if you don’t.  Part 3 of the draft regulations now makes explicit that the PCBU must have and maintain an inventory.

 The inventory must include for all hazardous substances† and hazardous wastes‡ the

• Product or chemical name
• UN number (if available)
• Maximum quantity likely to be at the workplace
• Location of the substances
• Specific storage and segregation requirements

 The regulation also states that the inventory needs to include the safety data sheet – so a mindset shift away from the inventory being a single document and being more of a set (physical or electronic) is needed.  This needs to be available to emergency services – including when the site has been evacuated.

 † - excluding those consumer like products used in a way consistent with household use

‡ - see separate discussion about the inclusion of hazardous wastes

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