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| B.C. Reg. 277/88 Regulation of the Minister |
Deposited July 22, 1988 effective October 31, 1988 |
| This archived regulation consolidation is current to April 1, 2005 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here. |
Railway Act
1 In this regulation:
"bulk shipment" means a shipment of a controlled product that is contained, without intermediate containment or intermediate packaging, in
(a) a vessel with a water capacity of more than 454 litres,
(b) a freight container, a portable tank, a road vehicle, a railway vehicle, a ship, barge or other type of vessel or an aircraft, or
(c) a pipeline;
"commission" means the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission established by the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (Canada);
"container" includes a bag, barrel, bottle, box, can, cylinder, drum, storage tank or similar package or receptacle;
"controlled product" means a product, material or substance specified by regulations made pursuant to section 15 (1) (a) of the Hazardous Products Act (Canada) as products, materials and substances included in any of the classes listed in Schedule II of that Act;
"employer" means a railway company incorporated under the Railway Act, and includes every person and every company by Act of the Legislature authorized to construct, or to own, or to operate a railway in the Province;
"hazard information" means information on the proper and safe use, storage and handling of a controlled product and includes information relating to its toxicological properties;
"hazardous waste" means a controlled product that is intended for disposal;
"label" includes a mark, sign, device, stamp, seal, sticker, ticket, tag or wrapper;
"manufactured article" means an article that is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture, the intended use of which, when in that form, is dependent in whole or in part on its shape or design, and that, under normal conditions of use, will not release or otherwise cause a person to be exposed to a controlled product;
"material safety data sheet" means a document disclosing the information referred to in section 13 (a) (i) to (v) of the Hazardous Products Act (Canada) and section 9 (2) of the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada);
"place of employment" means a railway;
"product identifier" means, in respect of a controlled product, the brand name, code name or code number specified by a supplier or the chemical name, common name, generic name or trade name;
"readily available" means, when used in connection with a material safety data sheet, available in a place where a person can easily access and study the information it contains;
"risk phrase" means, in respect of a controlled product or a class, division or subdivision of controlled products, a statement identifying a hazard that may arise from the nature of the controlled product or the class, division or subdivision of controlled products;
"safety and health representative" means a worker who carries out, at his place of employment, the functions of a joint occupational safety and health committee;
"supplier label" means a label provided by a supplier that complies with the requirements, discloses the information and displays the hazard symbols referred to in section 13 (b) of the Hazardous Products Act (Canada), section 17 of the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada), and section 11 (1) of this regulation;
"supplier material safety data sheet" means a material safety data sheet provided by a supplier;
"worker" includes a person who works for an employer;
"workplace label" means a label that discloses a product identifier and information for the safe handling of a controlled product, and that indicates that a material safety data sheet, if supplied or produced, is available.
2 (1) This regulation applies to employers and workers in respect of controlled products used, stored or handled at a place of employment.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the provisions of this regulation in respect of a supplier label and a material safety data sheet do not apply where the controlled product is an
(a) explosive within the meaning of the Explosives Act (Canada),
(b) cosmetic, device, drug or food within the meaning of the Food and Drugs Act (Canada),
(c) control product within the meaning of the Pest Control Products Act (Canada),
(d) prescribed substance within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Control Act (Canada), or
(e) product, material or substance packaged as a consumer product and in quantities normally used by the consuming public.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), this regulation does not apply where the controlled product is
(a) wood or a product made of wood,
(b) tobacco or a product made of tobacco,
(c) a manufactured article, or
(d) being transported or handled pursuant to the requirements of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (Canada) or the Transport of Dangerous Goods Act.
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), this regulation does not apply to a hazardous waste except that the employer shall ensure the safe storage and handling of a hazardous waste generated at that place of employment through the combination of any mode of identification and worker education.
3 (1) An employer shall ensure that a controlled product is not used, stored or handled in a place of employment unless all the applicable requirements of this regulation in respect of labels, identifiers, material safety data sheets and worker education are complied with.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an employer may store a controlled product in a place of employment while actively seeking information required by this regulation.
4 (1) An employer shall ensure that a worker who works with a controlled product or in proximity to a controlled product is informed about all hazard information received from a supplier concerning that controlled product as well as any further hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware concerning the use, storage and handling of that controlled product.
(2) Where a controlled product is produced in a place of employment, an employer shall ensure that a worker who works with that controlled product or in proximity to that controlled product is informed about all hazard information of which the employer is aware or ought to be aware concerning that controlled product and its use, storage and handling.
5 (1) The employer shall ensure that a worker who works with a controlled product or in proximity to a controlled product is instructed in
(a) the content of the applicable supplier label and workplace label, and the purpose and significance of the information contained on the label,
(b) the content required on a material safety data sheet and the purpose and significance of the information contained on the material safety data sheet,
(c) procedures for the safe use, storage, handling and disposal of a controlled product,
(d) the safe use, storage, handling and disposal of a controlled product contained or transferred in
(i) a pipe,
(ii) a piping system including valves,
(iii) a process vessel,
(iv) a reaction vessel, or
(v) a tank car, tank truck, ore car, conveyor belt or similar conveyance,
(e) procedures to be followed where the controlled product escapes from equipment, or from another product, and
(f) procedures to be followed in case of an emergency involving a controlled product.
(2) An employer shall ensure that the program of worker education required by subsection (1) is developed and implemented
(a) for that employer's place of employment and related to the employer's program for the prevention of injuries and occupational disease, and
(b) in consultation with the joint occupational safety and health committee, if any, or the safety and health representative, if any.
(3) An employer shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the program of worker instruction required by subsection (1) results in a worker being able to apply the information as needed to protect the worker's safety and health.
(4) The employer shall review at least annually, or more frequently if required by a change in work conditions or available hazard information, and in consultation with the joint occupational safety and health committee, if any, or safety and health representative, if any, the instruction and training provided to workers concerning controlled products.
6 (1) An employer shall ensure that the container of a controlled product or a controlled product received at a place of employment is labelled with a supplier label.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) and to section 16, as long as any amount of a controlled product remains in a place of employment in the container in which it was received from the supplier, an employer shall not remove, deface, modify or alter the supplier label.
(3) Where a label applied to a controlled product or a container of a controlled product becomes illegible or is accidentally removed from the controlled product or the container, the employer shall replace the label with either a supplier label or a workplace label.
(4) An employer who has received a controlled product in a multi-container shipment where the individual containers have not been labelled by the supplier shall apply to each container a label that meets the requirements of the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada).
(5) Where the controlled product imported under section 23 of the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada) is received at the place of employment without the supplier label, the employer shall apply a label that meets the requirements of that regulation.
(6) An employer who has received a controlled product transported as a bulk shipment shall
(a) apply a supplier label to the container of the controlled product or to the controlled product at his place of employment, or
(b) where, pursuant to section 15 of the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada) the supplier is not required to label a controlled product transported as a bulk shipment, apply a workplace label to the container of a controlled product or to the controlled product at his place of employment.
7 (1) Where an employer produces a controlled product at a place of employment, the employer shall ensure that the controlled product or the container of the controlled product has applied to it a workplace label.
(2) For purposes of subsection (1), "produces" does not include the production of a controlled product that escapes from equipment or from another product.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply when the controlled product is in a container that is intended to contain the controlled product for sale or distribution and the container is or is about to be appropriately labelled.
8 (1) Where a controlled product in a place of employment is in a container other than the container in which it was received from a supplier, the employer shall ensure that the container has applied to it a workplace label.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a portable container that is filled directly from a container that has applied to it a supplier label or workplace label
(a) if the controlled product
(i) is under the control of and is used exclusively by the worker who filled the portable container,
(ii) is used only during the shift in which the portable container was filled, and
(iii) the content of the container is clearly identified, or
(b) if all of the controlled product is required for immediate use.
9 Where a controlled product in a place of employment is contained or transferred in
(a) a pipe,
(b) a piping system including valves,
(c) a process vessel,
(d) a reaction vessel, or
(e) a tank car, tank truck, ore car, conveyor belt or similar conveyance,
the employer shall ensure the safe use, storage and handling of the controlled product through worker education and the use of colour coding, labels, placard or any mode of identification.
10 Notwithstanding sections 6, 7 and 8 where the controlled product is
(a) not in a container, or
(b) in a container in a form intended for export,
the employer may fulfill the labelling requirements under sections 6, 7 and 8 by posting a placard which
(c) discloses the information required for a workplace label, and
(d) is of a size and in locations so that the information is conspicuous and clearly legible to workers.
11 (1) A label of a container for a controlled product that originates from a laboratory supply house and is packaged in quantities of less than 10 kilograms for each container and that is intended for use in a laboratory shall disclose
(a) a product identifier
(b) where a material safety data sheet is available, a statement indicating that fact, and
(c) the following information that is applicable to the product:
(i) risk phrases;
(ii) precautionary measures;
(iii) first aid measures.
(2) Notwithstanding section 8 (2), the employer shall ensure that the contents of a container of a controlled product are clearly identified on the container where
(a) the container is not the container in which the controlled product was received from the supplier, and
(b) the employer intends to use the controlled product, or it is, in the normal course of his business, used exclusively in a laboratory.
(3) The employer shall ensure that a controlled product undergoing analysis, tests or evaluations in a laboratory is clearly identified.
12 (1) An employer who acquires a controlled product for use at a place of employment shall obtain a supplier material safety data sheet in respect of that controlled product.
(2) Where a supplier material safety data sheet obtained under subsection (1) in respect of a controlled product is 3 years old, the employer shall, if possible, obtain from the supplier an up-to-date supplier material safety data sheet in respect of any of the controlled product that remains in the place of employment.
(3) Where the employer is unable to obtain a material safety data sheet as required by subsection (2), the employer shall add any new hazard information applicable to that controlled product to the existing supplier material safety data sheet on the basis of the ingredients disclosed in that document.
(4) The employer may provide at a place of employment a material safety data sheet in a format different from the format provided by the supplier or containing additional hazard information if the material safety data sheet provided by the employer
(a) subject to section 16, contains at least the content of the supplier material safety data sheet, and
(b) the supplier material safety data sheet is available at the place of employment and the material safety data sheet provided by the employer indicates that fact.
(5) Where a supplier is exempted under section 9 or 10 of the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada) from the requirement to provide a material safety data sheet for a controlled product, the employer is exempt from the requirement to obtain and provide a material safety data sheet for that controlled product.
(6) Where a controlled product is received at a laboratory and the supplier has provided a material safety data sheet, the employer shall ensure that a copy of the material safety data sheet is readily available to the workers in the laboratory.
(7) Where a controlled product is received or produced at a laboratory and the employer has produced a material safety data sheet, the employer shall ensure that the material safety data sheet is readily available to workers in the laboratory.
13 (1) Where the employer produces a controlled product in the place of employment, the employer shall prepare a material safety data sheet in respect of the product which discloses, subject to section 16, the information required under the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada).
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), "produces" does not include the production of a controlled product that escapes from equipment or from another product nor does it include intermediate products undergoing reaction within a reaction or process vessel.
(3) An employer shall update the material safety data sheet referred to in subsection (1)
(a) as soon as practicable after new hazard information becomes available to the employer, and
(b) at least every 3 years.
14 (1) An employer shall ensure that a copy of a material safety data sheet required by section 12 or 13 is
(a) made readily available at the worker's place of employment to workers who may be exposed to the controlled product, and
(b) made readily available to the joint occupational safety and health committee, if any, and to a safety and health representative, if any.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), when an employer is required by subsection (1) to make a material safety data sheet readily available, the material safety data sheet may be made available on a computer terminal if the employer
(a) takes all reasonable steps to keep the terminal in active working order,
(b) makes the material safety data readily available on the request of a worker, and
(c) provides training in accessing computer-stored material safety data sheets to
(i) one or more workers working at a place of employment where the material safety data sheet is available on a computer terminal, and
(ii) members of the joint occupational safety and health committee if any, or a safety and health representative, if any.
15 Where an employer claims an exemption under section 16, the employer may delete the information that is the subject of the claim from the material safety data sheet provided under sections 12 and 13 for the time period in section 16 (4), but may not delete hazard information.
16 (1) An employer who is required by this regulation to disclose on a label or a material safety data sheet
(a) the chemical identity or concentration of an ingredient of a controlled product,
(b) the name of any toxicological study that identifies an ingredient of a controlled product,
(c) the chemical name, common name, generic name, trade name or brand name of a controlled product, or
(d) information that could be used to identify a supplier of a controlled product
may, if the employer considers such information to be confidential business information, claim an exemption from the requirement to disclose that information.
(2) The claim under subsection (1) shall be made to the commission established under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (Canada) and shall be filed in accordance with the procedure established under that Act and the regulations made under it.
(3) Under section 32 of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (Canada), the commission shall exercise the powers and perform the functions specified in that Act and the procedures prescribed by regulations under that Act in respect of a claim made under subsection (1).
(4) Information that an employer considers to be confidential business information is exempt from disclosure from the time a claim is filed under subsection (1) until the claim is finally determined by the commission and for a period of 3 years after that if the claim is found to be valid.
(5) An employer who makes a claim under subsection (1) shall abide by decisions of the commission and orders of the commission.
(6) Appeals from decisions made by the commission under this section may be made under and in accordance with the provisions of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (Canada) and any regulations made under that Act.
17 (1) Where a person enforcing this regulation obtains information from the commission under section 46 (2) (e) of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (Canada), the person to whom the information is communicated shall keep it confidential and shall not disclose such information to any person except for the purposes of the administration of enforcement of this regulation.
(2) A person to whom information is disclosed pursuant to subsection (1) shall keep the information confidential.
18 (1) An employer shall, in respect of a controlled product that is or was present in the place of employment, provide information respecting the controlled product, including confidential business information in the possession of the employer, to
(a) a member, in good standing, of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, or
(b) a person registered or licensed under the Nurses (Registered) Act, the Nurses (Registered Psychiatric) Act or the Nurses (Licensed Practical) Act1 and authorized to practise nursing in British Columbia,
who requests information on the controlled product for the purpose of making a medical diagnosis of, or rendering medical treatment to, a person who used, handled or was exposed to the controlled product at his place of employment.
(2) No person to whom information is provided by an employer pursuant to subsection (1) shall communicate or disclose the information to any other person except as may be necessary for the purposes mentioned in that subsection.
(3) A person to whom information is disclosed under subsection (2) shall keep the information confidential.
19 No person shall use, disclose or release information protected as confidential business information under this regulation except as provided by sections 17 and 18.
20 (1) A controlled product received at a place of employment before October 31, 1988
(a) shall bear a workplace label, and
(b) the employer is exempt for one year from October 31, 1988 from the provisions of this regulation respecting supplier labels for the product.
(2) Where a controlled product is received at a place of employment before October 31, 1988, the employer is exempt for a period of 90 days from October 31, 1988 from the provisions of this regulation respecting supplier material safety data sheets for that product
(a) if the employer is actively seeking a supplier material safety data sheet for the controlled product, or
(b) where a supplier material safety data sheet is not available, if the employer is developing a material safety data sheet containing at least the information required for a supplier material safety data sheet.
(3) An employer is exempt for a period of 90 days from October 31, 1988 from the provisions of this regulation respecting worker education.
(4) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), where
(a) the sale of a controlled product by a secondary supplier as defined in the Controlled Products Regulations (Canada) is exempted by that regulation from the requirement to provide a supplier material safety data sheet and supplier label for the controlled product,
(b) the controlled product is received in the workplace before March 15, 1989,
(c) the controlled product or the container of the controlled product bears a workplace label consistent with the information known to the employer at the time the controlled product is received at the place of employment, and
(d) the employer uses a combination of worker education and any visible mode of identification that communicates to the worker that
(i) the product is a controlled product that has been received in the place of employment before March 15, 1989, and
(ii) the employer is temporarily exempt from requirements to supply a supplier label and supplier material safety data sheet,
then
(e) the employer is exempt until October 31, 1989, from the provisions of this regulation respecting supplier labels, and
(f) the employer is exempt until June 15, 1989, from the provisions of this regulation respecting supplier material safety data sheets if, after March 15, 1989,
(i) the employer is actively seeking a supplier material safety data sheet for the controlled product, or
(ii) a supplier material safety data sheet is not available and the employer is developing a material safety data sheet containing at least the information required for a supplier material safety data sheet.
[Provisions of the Railway Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 395, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: sections 170 (d), 271 (1) (j), (2) and (4)]
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