We need something nontoxic!
By Dorothy Wigmore
Feeling woozy when using something at work? Got a headache or skin rash afterward? Maybe some breathing problems or reactions? Just wondering what’s in a product?
It’s time to use your “right to know” about chemical hazards on the job, and to push for products that are less nasty or nontoxic, a practice called informed substitution.
What’s the “right-to-know”?
New Jersey has three overlapping laws to help workers and employers find out about chemical hazards at work:
- The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication law
- The state’s Hazard Communication Standard, adding more to the federal version.
- The hard-won state Worker and Community Right to Know Act.
Together, they require school district employers make information accessible to workers, including:
- Up-to-date 16-section Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for each hazardous product.
- A current list (inventory) of each product’s hazardous chemicals found in in SDS Section 3.
- A list of the state’s right to know hazardous substance fact sheets and sheets for each listed chemical, provided one exists among the approximately 2,000 English and 900 Spanish documents.
- The employer’s annual Right to Know Survey.
- Effective training about the product/chemical hazards, and where to find and how to use the SDSs, labels, fact sheets and Survey—before someone “may be exposed,” with refreshers every two years.
Data sheets have problems
Unfortunately, chemical data sheets are notorious for missing or downplaying hazards and being too technical for most of us.
Despite an international agreement, companies are supposed to use all available evidence, and then decide if the “weight of evidence” or classification criteria are met. Without mandatory lists in the U.S., they can, and do, omit important hazards (see the BlueGreen Alliance’s report).
Many chemicals also have not been assessed for long-term effects (e.g., cancer, reproductive harm), despite on-going calls for full premarket testing. Even when they have been assessed, it may not lead to regulation. The chemical industry is famous for replicating the tobacco industry’s tactics, making doubt their product.
Companies also can claim “trade secrets” for chemicals, although it is often unnecessary. The 2012 changes to data sheets let them make a similar claim for amount of a chemical in a product; only ranges are required if for a “trade secret.”
Mandatory SDS training is often only a general overview, without information about their limitations or how to find out more.
“I know they mentioned things at our professional development sessions,” says Nikki Baker of Healthy Schools Now, remembering her own experiences. “They weren’t super detailed about how to read everything. You got hand-outs, maybe, and a slide show. You didn’t get a chance to practice.”
“It’s more ‘Be aware’, ‘We told you and now we’re not responsible.’ ‘We warned you to read it yourself,’” she explains. “And they never talked about nontoxic options. We’re just expected to put up with the hazardous ones.”
Then there’s greenwashing. Products are called “safe,” “nontoxic” or “green” without independent certification that it’s true. The certification criteria matters too. Check if they allow “quats,” chemicals known to cause health effects including asthma and reproductive harm.
Find out more!
New Jersey’s unique fact sheets provide more reliable and clear language material, with a glossary of terms to understand phrases like “vapor pressure” and “mutagen.” However, it’s unclear how often they are updated.
See the resources section for other independent sources, or ask for help from the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC), through your UniServ rep.
Chemicals may have several names; others are complicated or long. The best identification is the Chemicals Abstract Service (CAS) number that must be on SDSs, except for “trade secrets”. They’re like a chemical’s unique “fingerprint”.
Start with these sources:
Chemhat
Designed by and for workers, Chemhat is available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Based on the comprehensive Pharos database of international chemical hazard assessments and regulations. See the menu for background explanations.
Check the color coding. Something may be on a list for unclear reasons, especially if it has a black icon, indicating there’s little evidence.
Some chemicals have substitution links. If it’s a cleaner or disinfectant, also see below.
Risctox
English: risctox.istas.net/en
Español: risctox.istas.net
The Spanish Union Institute of Work, Environment and Health (ISTAS) database of 100,000-plus hazardous substances gives clear, organized and concise information about chemical hazards. It is particularly useful for information based on European regulations, which are much stronger than U.S. ones, especially for what’s banned or restricted. It is available in English and Spanish.
For cleaning and disinfecting products
California’s regulation about disclosing cleaning and disinfecting product ingredients is very useful. Unfortunately, there’s no related central database. For those not in Smartlabel, search the fine print on company websites. When in doubt, send a note to the “contact us” link, requesting the list. Follow up on Risctox, Chemhat or elsewhere. Also see NJEA’s Disinfecting Can Be Hazardous to All Staff and Students.”
For substitutes, check the TURI database and earlier NJEA Review articles.
If it’s hard to interpret what you find, ask science teachers or go through your UniServ rep for outside help.
What about less toxic or nontoxic products?
Rather than accepting the use of hazardous products, it’s time to ask, “Are they necessary?”
Why is a commercial cleaning product needed when soap, water and microfiber materials work? Why are there three graffiti removers? Why do we need a floor stripper? Why do we have carpet instead of flooring? And do we really need things that off-gas?
For nontoxic and less toxic options, it’s crucial to connect school procurement with health and safety committees. Purchasing staff likely are not familiar with an item’s hazards, despite “green” or “environmentally preferrable” buying programs. Nor are they likely to know about the consequences without a way to tell them. (See Tools for informed substitution.)
Dorothy Wigmore is a long-time health and safety specialist and WEC consultant. She has worked in Canada, the U.S. and Mozambique, focusing on prevention and worker participation to solve job-related hazards. She’s also a pioneer of body and workplace mapping and other tools to find and fix those hazards.
Resources
There are dozens of resources to assist you in exploring nontoxic and least toxic substitutions for various products used in a school environment. There are also many resources to assist you in clearly ascertaining exactly what is in the products you use—whether at work or in the home.
Toxics Use Reduction Institute
NJ Right to Know Hazardous Substances Fact Sheets
Informed substitution
Wigmorising
Bev Thorpe, Dorothy Wigmore and Larry Stoffman
“Tools for Informed Substitution. How Do You Find Safer Chemicals for the Workplace?”
OSHA
Transitioning to Safer Chemicals: A Toolkit for Employers and Workers
Right to Know
NJ Department of Health:
Right to Know (including where to get help)
NJ Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH)