Right to know is a human right enshrined in law in several countries. UNESCO defines it as the right for people to "participate in an informed way in decisions that affect them, while also holding governments and others accountable". [1] It pursues universal access to information as essential foundation of inclusive knowledge societies. [2] It is often defined in the context of the right for people to know about their potential exposure to environmental conditions or substances that may cause illness or injury, but it can also refer more generally to freedom of information or informed consent.
Right to know regarding environmental hazard information is protected by Australian law, which is described at Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. [3]
Right to know regarding workplace hazard information is protected by Australian law, which is described at Safe Work Australia and at the Hazardous Substances Information System. [4] [5]
Right to know regarding workplace hazard information is protected by Canadian law. [6]
Right to know regarding environmental hazard information is protected by Canadian law, which is described at Environment Canada. [7]
Europe consists of many countries, each of which has its own laws. The European Commission provides central access to most of the information about individual regulatory agencies and laws.
Right to know about environmental hazards is managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment and by the European Environment Agency. [8] [9]
Right to know about workplace hazards is managed by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. [10]
In the context of the United States workplace and community environmental law, right to know is the legal principle that the individual has the right to know the chemicals to which they may be exposed in their daily living. It is embodied in United States federal law as well as in local laws in several U.S. states. "Right to Know" laws take two forms: Community Right to Know and Workplace Right to Know. Each grants certain rights to those groups. The "right to know" concept is included in Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring . [11]
Toxic substances used in the work area must be disclosed to the occupants under laws managed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration. [12] [13] [14]
Hazardous substances used outside buildings must be disclosed to the appropriate state or local agency responsible for state environmental protection, [15] including regulatory actions outside federal land. Use on federal land is managed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Land Management Archived 2011-10-18 at the Wayback Machine . [16]
The US Department of Defense is self-regulating, and as such, is immune to state and federal law pertaining to Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on foreign and domestic soil.[ citation needed ]
Occupational Health and Safety is managed within most states under federal authority. [17]
Workplace safety and health in the U.S. operates under the framework established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act).[ citation needed ]
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for issuing and enforcing regulations covering workplace safety.[ citation needed ]
The Department of Transportation is responsible for transportation safety and for maintaining the list of hazardous materials.[ citation needed ]
The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for maintaining lists of specific hazardous materials.[ citation needed ]
Environmental health and safety outside the workplace is established by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), which is managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various state and local government agencies. [18]
State and local agencies maintain epidemiology information required by physicians to evaluate environmental illness.[ citation needed ]
Air quality information must be provided by pest control supe[ citation needed ]rvisors under license requirements established by the Worker Protection Standard when restricted use pesticide is applied.
The list of restricted use pesticides is maintained by the US EPA. [19]
Additionally, specific environmental pollutants are identified in public law, which extends to all hazardous substances even if the item is not identified as a restricted use pesticide by the EPA. As an example, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, and cynoff produce hydrogen cyanide upon combustion, but some pesticides that inadvertently produce noxious chemicals may not be identified as restricted-use pesticides. [20]
Some specific chemicals, such as cyaniate, cyanide, cyano, and nitrile compounds, satisfy the specific hazard definition that is identified in public law regardless of whether or not the item is identified on the list of restricted use pesticides maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Title 42 U.S.C. Section 7413 contains the reporting requirement for environmental pollutants.] [22]
Environmental illness share characteristics with common diseases. For example, cyanide exposure symptoms include weakness, headache, nausea, confusion, dizziness, seizures, cardiac arrest, and unconsciousness. [23] [24] Influenza and heart disease include the same symptoms.
Failure to obtain proper disclosure that is required by physicians will result in improper, ineffective, or delayed medical diagnosis and treatment for environmental illness caused by exposure to hazardous substance and by exposure to radiation.[ citation needed ]
The Library Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration within the US Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining the list of hazardous materials within the United States. [25]
All hazardous materials that are not created at the work site must be transported by motor vehicle. The safety and security of the public transportation system is enforced by the Department of Transportation. [26]
The Department of Transportation also regulates mandatory labeling requirements for all hazardous materials. [27] This is in addition to requirements by other federal agencies, like the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
DOT is responsible for enforcement actions and public notification regarding hazardous chemical releases and exposures, including incidents involving federal workers. [28]
DOT requires that all buildings and vehicles containing hazardous materials must have signs that disclose specific types of hazards for certified first responder.[ citation needed ]
Safety of certain workers is governed by the US Department of Energy, such as mine workers. Public information can be obtained in the form of directives. [29]
The United States Department of Defense manages environmental safety independent of OSHA and EPA. Spills, mishaps, illnesses, and injuries are not normally handled in accordance with local, state, and federal law.
Failure to administer discipline for illegal activity occurring within a military command is considered to be dereliction of duty, which is administered under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.[ citation needed ]
Individuals with information about environmental crimes and injuries involving the military are protected by Whistleblower protection in United States. Government employees, government contractors, and military officers often lack the training, education, licensing, and experience required to understand the legal requirements involving environmental safety. The sophistication required to understand legal requirements is not normally required for promotion and contractor selection within the military.[ citation needed ] Because of this, specific rules are documented in orders and directives that need to be written in plain language intended to be understood by people that have a 4th-grade reading ability.[ citation needed ]
Laws are enforced by the commanding officer in military organizations. The commanding officer typically has the ability to read and understand written requirements. A Flag Officer is subject to Court-martial action if laws or government policies are violated under their command when the activity is outside the scope of mission orders and rules of engagement. Each commanding officer is responsible for writing and maintaining policies simple enough to be understood by everyone in their command. Each commanding officer is responsible for ensuring that command policy documents are made available to every person in their command (civilian, military, and contractor). The commanding officer is responsible for disciplinary action and public disclosures when policies are violated within their command.[ citation needed ]
The commanding officer shares responsibilities for crimes that are not punished (dereliction).[ citation needed ]
Military agencies operate independently of law enforcement, judicial authority, and common law. Similar exemptions exist for some state agencies.[ citation needed ]
Potential crimes are investigated by military police. The following is an example of the kinds of policy documents used to conduct criminal investigations. [30]
Because military law enforcement is performed with no independent civilian oversight, there is an inherent conflict of interest. Information and disclosures are obtained through Freedom of Information Act request and not through disclosures ordinarily associated with the EPA and OSHA that have the competency required for training, certification, disclosure, and enforcement. This prevents physicians from obtaining the kind of information needed to diagnose and treat environmental illness, so the root cause for environmental illness typically remains permanently unknown. The following organization may help when the root cause for an illness remains unknown longer than 30 days. [31]
Criminal violations, injuries, and potential enforcement actions begin by exchanging information in the following venues when civilian government employees and flag officers are unable to deal with the situation in an ethical manner.
US federal laws, state laws, local laws, foreign laws, and treaty agreements may not apply.
Policies are established by Executive Order and not public law, except for interventions by the United States Congress and interventions by US district courts. [34]
The following US presidential executive orders establish the requirements for DoD environmental policy for government organizations within the executive branch of the United States.
The following unclassified documents provide further information for programs managed by the United States Secretary of Defense.
The information described in this section is for the United States, but most countries have similar regulatory requirements.
Two mandatory documents must provide hazard information for most toxic products.
Product label requirements are established by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act under the authority of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. As a minimum this requires information about the chemical makeup of the product, instructions required for the safe use of the product, and contact information for the manufacturer of the product.
A Safety Data Sheet is required under the authority of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration for hazardous materials to communicate health and safety risks needed by health care professionals and emergency responders.
A summary of workers rights is available from OSHA. [61]
Chemical information is most frequently associated with the right to know but there are many other types of information that are important to workplace safety and health. The following sources of information are those most likely to be found at the workplace or in state or federal agencies with jurisdiction over the workplace:
Note:Refer to 29 CFR 1910.1200 for the most current and updated information. [66]
The Hazard Communication Standard [67] first went into effect in 1985 and has since been expanded to cover almost all workplaces under OSHA jurisdiction. The details of the Hazard Communication standard are rather complicated, but the basic idea behind it is straightforward. It requires chemical manufacturers and employers to communicate information to workers about the hazards of workplace chemicals or products, including training.
The Hazard Communication standard does not specify how much training a worker must receive. Instead, it defines what the training must cover. Employers must conduct training in a language comprehensible to employees to be in compliance with the standard. It also states that workers must be trained at the time of initial assignment and whenever a new hazard is introduced into their work area. The purpose for this is so that workers can understand the hazards they face and so that they are aware of the protective measures that should be in place. It is very difficult to get a good understanding of chemical hazards and particularly to be able to read SDSs in the short amount of time that many companies devote to hazard communication training. When OSHA conducts an inspection, the inspector will evaluate the effectiveness of the training by reviewing records of what training was done and by interviewing employees who use chemicals to find out what they understand about the hazards. [68]
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates hazmat transportation within the territory of the US by Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations . [69]
All chemical manufacturers and importers must assess the hazards of the chemicals they produce and import and pass this information on to transportation workers and purchasers through labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs). Employers whose employees may be exposed to hazardous chemicals on the job must provide hazardous chemical information to those employees through the use of SDSs, properly labeled containers, training, and a written hazard communication program. This standard also requires the employer to maintain a list of all hazardous chemicals used in the workplace. The SDSs for these chemicals must be kept current and they must be made available and accessible to employees in their work areas.
Chemicals that may pose health risks or those that are physical hazards (such as fire or explosion) are covered. List of chemicals that are considered hazardous are maintained according to the use or purpose. There are several existing sources that manufacturers and employers may consult. These include:
Ultimately, it is up to the manufacturer to disclose hazards.
There are other sources of information about chemicals used in industry as a result of state and federal laws regarding the Community Right to Know Act.
The Air Resources Board is responsible for public hazard disclosures in California. [70] Pesticide use disclosures are made by each pest control supervisor to the County Agricultural Commission. [71] Epidemiology information is available from the California Pesticide Information Portal, which can be used by health care professionals to identify the cause for environmental illness. [72]
Under the Oregon Community Right to Know Act (ORS 453.307-372) and the federal Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title III, the Office of the State Fire Marshal collects information on hazardous substances and makes it available to emergency responders and to the general public. Among the information which companies must report are:
The information can be obtained in the form of an annual report of releases for the state or for specific companies. It is available on request from the Fire Marshal's Office and is normally free of charge unless unusually large quantities of data are involved.
Each container that contains a hazardous chemical must be labeled by the manufacturer or distributor before it is sent to downstream users. There is no single standard format for labels. Each product must be labeled according to the specific type of hazard.
Pesticide and fungicide labeling is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. [73]
Employers are required to inform the public of:
In addition, these items must be covered in training:
Note: Refer to 29 CFR 1910.1200 for the most current and updated information (https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10099)
SDSs information is required by EPA, OSHA, DOT, and/or DOE regulations depending upon the type of hazardous substance. The Safety Data Sheet includes the following information.
Chemical manufacturers may legally withhold the specific chemical identity of a material from the SDS and label in the case of bona fide trade secrets. In such cases the following rules apply:
The Hazard Communication standard requires that chemical information must be transmitted to employees who work with hazardous materials. Employee exposure records can tell if a worker is actually being exposed to a chemical or physical hazard and how much exposure he or she is receiving. OSHA regulations that establish access rights to these records are found in 29 CFR 1910.1020: Access to Medical and Exposure Records. [62] This information is usually the product of some type of monitoring or measurement for:
Employees and their designated representatives have the right under OR-OSHA regulations to examine or copy exposure records that are in the possession of the employer. This right applies not only to records of an employee's own exposure to chemical, physical, or biological agents but also to exposure records of other employees whose working conditions are similar to the employee's. Union representatives have the right to see records for any work areas in which the union represents employees.[ citation needed ]
In addition to seeing the results, employees and their representatives also have the right to observe the actual measurement of hazardous chemical or noise exposure.[ citation needed ]
Exposure records that are part of an OR-OSHA inspection file are also accessible to employees and union representatives. In fact these files, with the exception of certain confidential information, are open to the public after the inspection has been legally closed out.[ citation needed ]
Many employers keep some type of medical records. These could be medical questionnaires, results of pre-employment physical examinations, results from blood tests or more elaborate records of ongoing diagnosis or treatment (such as all biological monitoring not defined as an employee exposure record). OSHA regulations that establish access rights to these records are found in CFR 1910.1020: Access to Medical and Exposure Records. [62]
Medical records are considerably more personal than exposure records or accident reports so the rules governing confidentiality and access to them are stricter. Employee medical records do not include a lot of employee medical information because of this extra scrutiny. A good rule of thumb is that if the information is maintained separately from the employer's medical program, it probably will not be accessible.[ citation needed ]
Examples of separately maintained medical information would be records of voluntary employee assistance programs (alcohol, drug abuse, or personal counseling programs), medical records concerning health insurance claims or records created solely in preparation for litigation.[ citation needed ]
These records are often kept at the worksite if there is an on-site physician or nurse. They could also be in the files of a physician, clinic, or hospital with whom the employer contracts for medical services.[ citation needed ]
An employee has access to his or her own medical record (29 CFR 1910.1020). An individual employee may also sign a written release authorizing a designated representative (such as a union representative) to receive access to his or her medical record. The latter might occur in a case where the union or a physician or other researcher working for the union or employer needs medical information on a whole group of workers to document a health problem. Certain confidential information may be deleted from an employee's record before it is released.[ citation needed ]
The push towards greater availability of information came from events that killed many and infected others with toxins, such as the Bhopal disaster in India in December 1984. During the Bhopal disaster, a cloud of methyl isocyanate escaped an insecticide plant due to neglect, and as a result, 2,000 people were killed and many more were injured. The plant had been already noted for its poor safety record and lack of evacuation or emergency plan. The lack of awareness and knowledge in the community about the dangers led to this disaster, which could have been avoided. [74]
Shortly after, the Emergency Planning and Right to Know Act of 1986, originally introduced by California Democrat Henry Waxman, was passed. This act was the first official step taken to help people become more educated in the field of corporation's pollutants and their actions. The act issued a requirement for industrial facilities across the U.S. to disclose information on their annual releases of toxic chemicals. This data collected is made available by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) which is open to public knowledge. This was noticed as a step in the right direction however, only pounds of individual pollutants were required to be released as a result of this act. No information about toxicity, spread, or overlap had been required to be shared with the public.[ citation needed ]
In years to come, the public achieved greater ways of accessing the information that corporations with excess pollutants withheld. The Toxic 100 is a form of newer information which is a list that includes one hundred companies industrial air polluters in the United States that are ranked by the quantity of pollution they produce and the toxicity of the pollutants. This data is determined by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and calculated with factors such as winds carrying the pollution, height of smokestacks, and how much it impacts nearby communities. [75]
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemical, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter. Protective equipment may be worn for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, as well as for sports and other recreational activities. Protective clothing is applied to traditional categories of clothing, and protective gear applies to items such as pads, guards, shields, or masks, and others. PPE suits can be similar in appearance to a cleanroom suit.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 29, 1970. OSHA's mission is to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance." The agency is also charged with enforcing a variety of whistleblower statutes and regulations. OSHA's workplace safety inspections have been shown to reduce injury rates and injury costs without adverse effects on employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival.
A safety data sheet (SDS), material safety data sheet (MSDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. SDSs are a widely used system for cataloguing information on chemicals, chemical compounds,chemical mixtures. SDS information may include instructions for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or product, along with spill-handling procedures. The older MSDS formats could vary from source to source within a country depending on national requirements; however, the newer SDS format is internationally standardized.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970. Its main goal is to ensure that employers provide employees with an environment free from recognized hazards, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Occupational hygiene is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control, and confirmation (ARECC) of protection from risks associated with exposures to hazards in, or arising from, the workplace that may result in injury, illness, impairment, or affect the well-being of workers and members of the community. These hazards or stressors are typically divided into the categories biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic and psychosocial. The risk of a health effect from a given stressor is a function of the hazard multiplied by the exposure to the individual or group. For chemicals, the hazard can be understood by the dose response profile most often based on toxicological studies or models. Occupational hygienists work closely with toxicologists for understanding chemical hazards, physicists for physical hazards, and physicians and microbiologists for biological hazards. Environmental and occupational hygienists are considered experts in exposure science and exposure risk management. Depending on an individual's type of job, a hygienist will apply their exposure science expertise for the protection of workers, consumers and/or communities.
Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials. An example for dangerous goods is hazardous waste which is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment.
A waste collector, also known as a garbage man, garbage collector, trashman, binman or dustman, is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and dispose of municipal solid waste (refuse) and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection sites for further processing and waste disposal. Specialised waste collection vehicles featuring an array of automated functions are often deployed to assist waste collectors in reducing collection and transport time and for protection from exposure. Waste and recycling pickup work is physically demanding and usually exposes workers to an occupational hazard.
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 is a United States federal law passed by the 99th United States Congress located at Title 42, Chapter 116 of the U.S. Code, concerned with emergency response preparedness.
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response is a set of guidelines produced and maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which regulates hazardous waste operations and emergency services in the United States and its territories. With these guidelines, the U.S. government regulates hazardous wastes and dangerous goods from inception to disposal.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) is a state government agency that regulates workplace safety and health in the U.S. state of Michigan. Michigan OSHA is an agency within the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and operates under a formal state-plan agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is an internationally agreed-upon standard managed by the United Nations that was set up to replace the assortment of hazardous material classification and labelling schemes previously used around the world. Core elements of the GHS include standardized hazard testing criteria, universal warning pictograms, and safety data sheets which provide users of dangerous goods relevant information with consistent organization. The system acts as a complement to the UN numbered system of regulated hazardous material transport. Implementation is managed through the UN Secretariat. Although adoption has taken time, as of 2017, the system has been enacted to significant extents in most major countries of the world. This includes the European Union, which has implemented the United Nations' GHS into EU law as the CLP Regulation, and United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.
Environment, health and safety (EHS) is the set that studies and implements the practical aspects of protecting the environment and maintaining health and safety at occupation. In simple terms it is what organizations must do to make sure that their activities do not cause harm to anyone. Commonly, quality - quality assurance and quality control - is adjoined to form the company division known as HSQE.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 is a United Kingdom Statutory Instrument which states general requirements imposed on employers to protect employees and other persons from the hazards of substances used at work by risk assessment, control of exposure, health surveillance and incident planning. There are also duties on employees to take care of their own exposure to hazardous substances and prohibitions on the import of certain substances into the European Economic Area. The regulations reenacted, with amendments, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Work Regulations 1999 and implement several European Union directives.
An occupational exposure limit is an upper limit on the acceptable concentration of a hazardous substance in workplace air for a particular material or class of materials. It is typically set by competent national authorities and enforced by legislation to protect occupational safety and health. It is an important tool in risk assessment and in the management of activities involving handling of dangerous substances. There are many dangerous substances for which there are no formal occupational exposure limits. In these cases, hazard banding or control banding strategies can be used to ensure safe handling.
The Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) program is a workplace health program administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH developed the HHE program to comply with a mandate in the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to investigate workplace health hazards reported by employers and employees. According to Section 20(a)(6) of the Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized "following a written request by any employer or authorized representative of employees, to determine whether any substance normally found in the place of employment has potentially toxic effects in such concentrations as used or found."
Bioenvironmental Engineers (BEEs) within the United States Air Force (USAF) blend the understanding of fundamental engineering principles with a broad preventive medicine mission to identify, evaluate and recommend controls for hazards that could harm USAF Airmen, employees, and their families. The information from these evaluations help BEEs design control measures and make recommendations that prevent illness and injury across multiple specialty areas, to include: Occupational Health, Environmental Health, Radiation Safety, and Emergency Response. BEEs are provided both initial and advanced instruction at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
Workplace health surveillance or occupational health surveillance (U.S.) is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of exposure and health data on groups of workers. The Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its 12th Session in 1995 defined an occupational health surveillance system as "a system which includes a functional capacity for data collection, analysis and dissemination linked to occupational health programmes".
Pesticide regulation in the United States is primarily a responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In America, it was not till the 1950s that pesticides were regulated in terms of their safety. The Pesticides Control Amendment (PCA) of 1954 was the first time Congress passed guidance regarding the establishment of safe limits for pesticide residues on food. It authorized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban pesticides they determined to be unsafe if they were sprayed directly on food. The Food Additives Amendment, which included the Delaney Clause, prohibited the pesticide residues from any carcinogenic pesticides in processed food. In 1959, pesticides were required to be registered.
The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires employers to disclose toxic and hazardous substances in workplaces. This is related to the Worker Protection Standard.
Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS), also known simply as occupational health or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work. These terms also refer to the goals of this field, so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc. OSH is related to the fields of occupational medicine and occupational hygiene.