Hazardous Chemicals in Hospitality

Environmental Health and Safety at Virginia Tech has received funding through the OSHA Susan Harwood Training Grant Program to develop and provide training on hazardous chemicals for workers in the hospitality industry. OSHA's HazCom standard applies to many persons working in the hospitality industry, including persons working where bulk chemicals are used (for example, product dispensers used in many housekeeping operations) or where household-type products are used at a frequency greater than a normal consumer. Covered employees would include, for example, housekeepers, maintenance personnel, and even kitchen staff if they clean their work site.

We offer both a supervisor and awareness-level training, and can offer the training in both English and Spanish. The OSHA HazCom standard requires that a site-specific plan be developed, that containers be appropriately labeled, Safety Data Sheets be maintained, and that employees be trained. The supervisory-level training we provide covers these aspects of the standard.

The awareness level training we provide covers the following:

• The rights of the employee as outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (this is required as a part of the grant)
• How to recognize signs, labels and pictograms that indicate potentially hazardous chemicals;
• Read and apply the information found on a safety data sheet in the performance of daily tasks;
• How to use best practices when handling and storing chemicals/products; and
• How to use supplied personal protective equipment properly when handling hazardous chemicals.

The training has been reviewed for technical accuracy and approved for use by OSHA. Employees would still need to be informed on the aspects of the site-specific plan that is developed by their employer. Violations of the HazCom standard are the second-most frequently cited issue by federal OSHA. It is our goal to help employers in the hospitality industry avoid this risk, and also provide employees the tools they need to conduct their work safely. Our staff is willing to travel as necessary to conduct this training provided there are a sufficient number of attendees.