WHMIS - Laboratories

Yes. WHMIS applies to hazardous products that are used, handled, or stored in all Canadian workplaces, including those found in laboratories. However, there are some unique circumstances that can apply to hazardous products in a laboratory setting. Some of these situations are treated differently with respect to hazard communication requirements – each of the following situations will be discussed in this document:

• products purchased for laboratories
• small containers
• decanted products
• hazardous products developed in a laboratory
• laboratory samples
• biohazardous infectious materials

Other situations may also be relevant in a laboratory. For situations not covered by this document, please consult with the WHMIS regulations and/or your jurisdiction for more information.

Note that while in certain circumstances, some hazardous products may be exempt from the WHMIS requirements for a label or SDS, employers must still provide education and training on the hazards, safe use, and storage of these products.

Laboratories often use a variety of hazardous products. Unless an exemption applies, as outlined below, these products must be provided with WHMIS supplier labels and safety data sheets (SDSs). Suppliers must provide these documents to laboratories when products are purchased.

It is a good practice to have an up-to-date inventory of all laboratory products and to fully review each SDS that arrives to ensure that workers are fully trained to safely handle, use, and store these products.

Supplier labels for hazardous products in small containers may carry less information. Containers with a capacity of 100 ml or less are not required to have hazard statements or precautionary statements on the label.

Labels on containers with a capacity of 3 ml or less can be designed to be removed at the workplace if the label interferes with the normal use of the product. The label must remain durable and legible while the product is stored and transported.

Figure 1 – Example of a Small Container Label 

Decanting is a common laboratory practice where a hazardous product may be transferred or poured into another container. A workplace label is required:

• if the product is not used immediately,
• if more than one person will be in control of the product, or
• if the product is not used up during the shift in which it was decanted.

The following information must be present on a workplace label:

• Product name (matching the SDS product name).
• Safe handling precautions (may include pictograms or other supplier label information).
• A reference to the SDS (if available).

More information on labels is available in the OSH Answers document WHMIS - Labels.

If products developed in the laboratory will be used, handled, or stored in a workplace and if these products meet any of the criteria for the WHMIS hazard classes, the laboratory must classify the product hazards and provide a label and SDS.

For many newly created products, the hazards of the product may be unknown until testing is completed. In this case, the newly created product may be treated as a laboratory sample until it is analyzed and evaluated.

For hazardous products sent to the laboratory for analysis or for products that are in the process of being developed, exemptions could apply if certain conditions are met. A laboratory sample is defined as a sample of a hazardous product that:

• is packaged in a container that contains less than 10 kilograms of the hazardous product,
• is intended solely to be tested in a laboratory, and
• does not include a sample that is to be used by a laboratory for testing other products or for educational or demonstration purposes.

Examples of laboratory samples include:

• samples for quality control testing,
• samples provided for the development of industrial processes,
• diagnostic specimens (e.g., blood or tissue samples), and
• industrial hygiene samples.

Laboratory samples do not require an SDS if they are transferred for a specific purpose to a laboratory without ownership change ("bailed") and:

• the chemical name and concentration of the hazardous product or its ingredients are not known, or
• the hazardous product is not yet available on the market (i.e., has not been offered or exposed for transfer of ownership).

"Bailed" means transfer of possession without transfer of ownership. In this situation, the laboratory does not own the laboratory sample but has possession of the sample while conducting testing on behalf of the owner.

Reduced information on the label of a laboratory sample that is transferred without transferring ownership (bailed) is accepted when the sample is:

• a substance where the chemical name is not known
• a mixture where the chemical name of one or more of its ingredients is not known or where the concentration of one or more of its ingredients is not known
• where the supplier has not offered or exposed the hazardous product for transfer of ownership 

At a minimum, a laboratory sample must be labelled with the following information (see also Figure XYZ):

• the chemical name or generic chemical name of the substance, if it is known by the supplier,
• the chemical name or generic chemical name of any ingredient in a mixture that is in the laboratory sample, if known by the supplier, and
• the statement "Hazardous Laboratory Sample. For hazard information or in an emergency call / Échantillon pour laboratoire de produit dangereux. Pour obtenir des renseignements sur les dangers ou en cas d’urgence, composez  …" followed by an emergency telephone number for the person who can provide information that would be required on the SDS.

Figure 2 – Example of a Laboratory Sample Label

WHMIS has a hazard class for biohazardous infectious materials (BIMs).

BIMs are micro-organisms (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites), nucleic acids, or proteins that cause or probably cause infection in people or animals. In Canada, hazardous products that meet the criteria for classification in this hazard class must have a nine-heading appendix to the SDS to provide information specific to the biohazard (see Table 1). This hazard class was retained from WHMIS 1988.

There are variations and exceptions that apply to labels and SDSs for BIMs used in the laboratory.

BIM SDS

A full supplier label and a 16-section SDS with a 9-section appendix is required when a laboratory receives a hazardous product that is classified as a BIM. This requirement applies to a hazardous product that is only classified as a BIM or that is classified as a BIM and another hazard class. The requirement is the same whether the BIM product was purchased or imported into the lab or bailed from an owner.

Laboratory workers should be aware that there are Pathogen Safety Data Sheets available for pathogens at the Public Health Agency of Canada website. These pathogen safety data sheets are technical documents that describe the hazardous properties of the pathogen and provide recommendations for work involving these agents in a laboratory setting. Note that work involving pathogens in Canada may require compliance with international, national, and provincial laws and guidelines.

There are exemptions that apply if the biohazardous infectious materials (BIM) is a laboratory sample (see Table 1). Biohazardous infectious material laboratory samples have different SDS or label requirements in these situations:

* Note that this exemption does not apply to cross-border shipments.

The reduced label requirements for a laboratory sample that is sold or imported and is only classified as a BIM are:

• the product identifier,
• the chemical name or generic chemical name of  any material that is in the hazardous product and that is classified as a biohazardous infectious material if known by the supplier,
• the initial supplier identifier, and
• the statement "Hazardous Laboratory Sample. For hazard information or in an emergency call / Échantillon pour laboratoire de produit dangereux. Pour obtenir des renseignements sur les dangers ou en cas d’urgence, composez  …" followed by an emergency telephone number for the person who can provide information that would be required on the SDS.

Hazardous wastes that are contaminated by BIMs are still treated as hazardous wastes and are exempt from WHMIS label and SDS requirements.