(1) Labels on shipped containers. The chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor must ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace is labeled, tagged, or marked. Hazards not otherwise classified, and hazards identified and classified under WAC 296-901-14008 (1)(a)(ii) do not have to be addressed on the container. Where the chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor is required to label, tag or mark the following information must be provided:

(a) Product identifier;

(b) Signal word;

(c) Hazard statement(s);

(d) Pictogram(s);

(e) Precautionary statement(s); and

(f) Name, U.S. address, and U.S. telephone number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party.

(2) The chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor must ensure that the information provided under subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section is in accordance with WAC 296-901-14026, Appendix C—Allocation of label elements, for each hazard class and associated hazard category for the hazardous chemical, prominently displayed, and in English (other languages may also be included if appropriate).

(3) The chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor must ensure that the information provided under subsection (1)(b) through (d) of this section is located together on the label, tag, or mark.

(4) Solid materials.

(a) For solid metal (such as a steel beam or a metal casting), solid wood, or plastic items that are not exempted as articles due to their downstream use, or shipments of whole grain, the required label may be transmitted to the customer at the time of the initial shipment, and need not be included with subsequent shipments to the same employer unless the information on the label changes;

(b) The label may be transmitted with the initial shipment itself, or with the safety data sheet that is to be provided prior to or at the time of the first shipment; and

(c) This exception to requiring labels on every container of hazardous chemicals is only for the solid material itself, and does not apply to hazardous chemicals used in conjunction with, or known to be present with, the material and to which employees handling the items in transit may be exposed (for example, cutting fluids or pesticides in grains).

(5) Transportation.

(a) Chemical manufacturers, importers, or distributors must ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals leaving the workplace is labeled, tagged, or marked in accordance with this section in a manner which does not conflict with the requirements of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and regulations issued under that act by the Department of Transportation.

(b) The label for bulk shipments of hazardous chemicals must be on the immediate container, transmitted with the shipping papers or the bills of lading, or, with the agreement of the receiving entity, transmitted by technological or electronic means so that it is immediately available to workers in printed form on the receiving end of shipment.

(c) Where a pictogram required by the department of transportation under Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations appears on a shipped container, the pictogram specified in Appendix C of this section for the same hazard is not required on the label.

(6) Workplace labeling. Except as provided in subsection (7) and (8) of this section, the employer must ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals in the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked with either:

(a) The information specified under subsection (1)(a) through (d) of this section for labels on shipped containers; or

(b) Product identifier and words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical.

(7) The employer may use signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or other such written materials in lieu of affixing labels to individual stationary process containers, as long as the alternative method identifies the containers to which it is applicable and conveys the information required under subsection (6) of this section to be on a label. The employer must ensure the written materials are readily accessible to the employees in their work area throughout each work shift.

(8) The employer is not required to label portable containers into which hazardous chemicals are transferred from labeled containers, and which are intended only for the immediate use of the employee who performs the transfer. For purposes of this section, drugs which are dispensed by a pharmacy to a health care provider for direct administration to a patient are exempted from labeling.

(9) The employer must not remove or deface existing labels on incoming containers of hazardous chemicals, unless the container is immediately marked with the required information.

(10) The employer must ensure that workplace labels or other forms of warning are legible, in English, and prominently displayed on the container, or readily available in the work area throughout each work shift. Employers having employees who speak other languages may add the information in their language to the material presented, as long as the information is presented in English as well.

(11) Label updates. Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, or employers who become newly aware of any significant information regarding the hazards of a chemical must revise the labels for the chemical within six months of becoming aware of the new information, and must ensure that labels on containers of hazardous chemicals shipped after that time contain the new information. For chemicals that have been released for shipment and are awaiting future distribution, chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, or employers have the option not to relabel those containers; however, if they do not relabel the containers, they must provide the updated label for each individual container with each shipment.

If the chemical is not currently produced or imported, the chemical manufacturer, importer, distributor, or employer must add the information to the label before the chemical is shipped or introduced into the workplace again.

(12) Small container labeling.

(a) This subsection applies where the chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor can demonstrate that it is not feasible to use pull-out labels, fold-back labels, or tags containing the full label information required by subsection (11) of this section.

(b) For a container less than or equal to 100 ml capacity, the chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor must include, at a minimum, the following information on the label of the container:

(i) Product identifier;

(ii) Pictogram(s);

(iii) Signal word;

(iv) Chemical manufacturer's name and phone number; and

(v) A statement that the full label information for the hazardous chemical is provided on the immediate outer package.

(c) For a container less than or equal to 3 ml capacity, where the chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor can demonstrate that any label interferes with the normal use of the container, no label is required, but the container must bear, at a minimum, the product identifier.

(d) For all small containers covered by (b) or (c) of this subsection, the immediate outer package must include:

(i) The full label information required by subsection (11) of this section for each hazardous chemical in the immediate outer package. The label must not be removed or defaced, as required by subsection (9) of this section.

(ii) A statement that the small container(s) inside must be stored in the immediate outer package bearing the complete label when not in use.