 |
|
 |
|
Objective
To
protect the health and safety of all university employees and provide a
safe and healthy
work and study environment in accordance with the Regents'
Campus Health
and Safety
Policy, and to implement all the provisions of the Minnesota Employee
Right-to-Know Act of 1983, as well as Federal Regulations covering
the communication of information on hazardous substances, harmful
physical and infectious agents to employees campus-wide.
Summary of the law
In 1983 the
Minnesota Legislature passed the Employee
Right-To-Know (ERTK) Act, which requires employers to develop written programs that
outlines steps
taken to protect
and inform employees
of the
dangers
associated with potential exposure to hazardous
chemical substances, harmful
physical agents, and infectious
agents hey may routinely
come in contact with in the workplace.
The MERTK Act also requires employers to evaluate their
workplaces for
the presence of hazardous substances, harmful physical agents, and
infectious agents and to provide
training to employees concerning
substances or agents to which they may be exposed.
Written
information on agents must be made readily available and
accessible to all employees and their
representatives. Employees
have
a conditional right to refuse to
work if assigned to work in an unsafe or
unhealthful manner with a hazardous
substance, harmful physical agent or infectious agent.
Written information also must specify the labeling
requirements for containers of hazardous substances and equipment or
work areas that generate harmful physical agents.
Scope and
Exceptions
This program applies to all University
of Minnesota Duluth employees
and places of work where potential exposure to hazardous chemical,
harmful physical or infectious agents may routinely occur with
the following exceptions:
-
Laboratories where
bench-scale laboratory use of hazardous chemicals occurs are exempt
from all the provisions of this standard. Laboratories must
comply with federal requirements as codified in title 29 CFR, section
1910.1450.
-
Waste Service
Employers regulated under the
Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) must prepare and
have a training
program approved by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.
-
Hospitals and
Clinics of any size must
comply with the infectious agents as well as hazardous substances and
harmful physical agents requirements.
- Farms or
Farming Operations with ten or fewer employees are exempt from
all provisions of the standard except that label information must be
furnished to employees or their representative. Farming
operations with
more than ten employees are required to comply with training
requirements as outlined for farming operations in
Minnesota Rules, parts 5206.1300 to
5206.1900.
Hospitals and clinics must provide
training to their employees on infectious agents to which those
employees are routinely exposed. The training program must
include the
chain of infection, techniques to avoid self-contamination, hazards to
special at-risk groups, recommended immunization practices and how to
obtain additional information.
Rights
and Responsibilities
Employees
-
Receive
information, and be trained
on the hazardous substances,
harmful physical agents and infectious agents to which they may be
exposed.
-
Refuse
to work if assigned to work in an unsafe
or unhealthful manner with a hazardous substance, harmful
physical agent or infectious agent.
-
Request an inspection of
the workplace (Employees must initially notify the employer or
supervisor
of
the hazardous conditions. If corrections are not completed or if
a
dispute
arises about the existence of a hazard, the employee or authorized
employee representative may request an inspection of
the workplace by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, the
Office of
Occupational Health and Safety or a Minnesota
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MN OSHA).
-
Attend all required training, and carryout
requirement of the ERTK Plan including labeling chemical containers,
wearing assigned protective equipment, etc
Employers
(Departments and Facilities)
-
Designate
a Program Coordinator with overall
responsibility to review and update the program as necessary,
disseminate information to employees about the program (this could be
someone already assigned as
a department Safety Coordinator or a Supervisor)
-
Develop and Complete the written Site-Specific
Employee Right to know Plan
- Conduct
a hazard evaluation (Risk Assessment
and Task/Job Hazard
Analysis) for each
operation,
process, or work area where chemical, physical or infectious hazards
may be present including during
emergencies to:
- Identify and develop a list of hazardous
substances, physical agents
and infectious agents used or encountered at the site.
- Collect written
information on the listed hazards, including Material Safety Data
Sheets (MSDS)
for all chemical and Infectious
agents used at the site.
- Identify all areas where potential exposures
to harmful physical
agents may occur, label and post those areas with proper warning signs.
- Identify affected employees.
- Label hazardous substances and harmful
physical
agents.
- Label transfer containers (Label info should
include the chemical or trade name of the hazardous substance, and
identification of the main hazard(s) posed by the substance).
-
Train employees
upon initial
assignment, annually and when a new hazard is introduced.
-
Keep records
of completed training
using a
either computerized file or sign up sheet with information about the
training.
- Assign employees to alternative jobs until
hazardous conditions can be eliminated or until proper training has
been provided.
-
Protection of trade secrets.
Environmental Health and
Safety
Office
-
Orient supervisors to responsibilities under
MERTKA.
-
Assist in collection of MSDS and
identification
of hazards.
-
Devolop the
Site-Specific
Plan Template,
-
Perform exposure monitoring and assist with
Risk/Hazard Assessment
-
Prepare educational materials for new employee
training.
-
Respond to requests for assistance in finding
training materials and evaluation of MSDS.
-
Recommend content of training programs.
Information
For more information about the law, you may contact either of
the following offices:
University of Minnesota Duluth
Environmental
Health and Safety Office
Phone: (218) 726-7273
FAX: (218) 726-6730
email: ehso@d.umn.edu
|
Minnesota
Department of Health
Industrial Hygiene Section
717 Delaware Street S.E.
P.O. Box 9441
Minneapolis, MN 55440
612/623-5372 |
|
|
|
|
|
