Hazardous communication: the complete OSHA HazCom guide for small business

Last updated 2026-07-09

What is hazardous communication, and why does OSHA care so much about it?

Hazardous communication, usually shortened to HazCom, is how workers find out what chemicals they're handling, what those chemicals can do to them, and what to do if something spills, splashes, or catches fire. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard at 29 CFR 1910.1200 is the law that makes that system mandatory for most employers in general industry. ^[1]

The standard dates to 1983 and has been revised several times. The biggest rewrite landed in 2012, when OSHA aligned the U.S. system with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). That update gave us the 16-section Safety Data Sheet and the red-diamond pictogram labels you see on chemical containers today. ^[1]

Why does OSHA keep this near the top of its citation list? Because the exposure numbers are enormous. OSHA estimates that 32 million workers handle hazardous chemicals on the job every year. ^[10] When people don't know what they're working with, injuries and illnesses follow. HazCom is the floor that keeps that from happening.

HazCom has ranked number one or number two on OSHA's most-cited general industry standards for more than a decade. OSHA logged 2,723 HazCom violations in fiscal year 2023. ^[2] That matters for your wallet: as of 2024, a serious violation runs up to $16,131, and a willful or repeat violation reaches $161,323. ^[3]

Who does the OSHA HazCom standard apply to?

Almost every employer. 29 CFR 1910.1200 covers any general industry employer whose employees may be exposed to hazardous chemicals under normal working conditions or in a foreseeable emergency. ^[1] A restaurant with bleach in the back. A salon with acetone. A machine shop with cutting fluid. A janitorial crew with drain cleaner. All covered.

Construction employers fall under the parallel standard at 29 CFR 1926.59, which adopts the general industry rule by reference. Maritime work sits under 29 CFR 1915.99. The requirements are the same across all three. ^[1]

A few narrow exemptions exist. Retailers that sell hazardous products to consumers (rather than use them in operations) have lighter duties. Farms with fewer than 11 employees that use only EPA-registered pesticides applied per label directions are exempt. Labs run on a modified version of the standard at 29 CFR 1910.1450. ^[1] These carve-outs are smaller than people hope. If you're wondering whether you're covered, assume yes.

State-plan states can set HazCom rules that are at least as strict as the federal one. There are 22 state plans covering 29 states and territories. ^[4] California's version, run by Cal/OSHA, adds requirements around Proposition 65 and environmental disclosure. Check your state plan if you operate in one.

What are the four core requirements of a hazardous communication program?

OSHA's HazCom standard stands on four legs. Miss one and you're out of compliance.

1. Written hazardous communication program. A document that lays out how your workplace runs HazCom. It has to name the person responsible, explain how you keep your chemical inventory current, describe your labeling procedures, and spell out how you handle Safety Data Sheets and training. ^[1] The standard says that written program has to be available to employees, their designees, and OSHA inspectors on request.

2. Chemical inventory. A list of every hazardous chemical in your workplace. more than what you buy. It includes chemicals your processes generate (welding fumes, diesel exhaust) and the maintenance products hiding in a back closet. The inventory drives everything else. It tells you which SDS you need and which chemicals your training has to cover. ^[1]

3. Safety Data Sheets (SDS). For every hazardous chemical on the inventory, you need the manufacturer's SDS on file and reachable by employees during their shift, without asking a supervisor for the key. Every SDS has to follow the 16-section GHS format required since the 2012 update. ^[1] You can store them electronically, but only if workers have reliable access at all times, power outages included.

4. Training. Employees have to be trained before they first work with hazardous chemicals. The training has to cover the standard itself, where the written program and SDS live, how to read labels and SDS, and the hazards of the specific chemicals in their work area. ^[1] Generic safety talk doesn't count. Training has to be chemical-specific and documented.

There's a fifth piece people forget. If contractors work at your site and might be exposed to your chemicals, you have to give them the hazard information and precautions. If they bring their own chemicals in, they owe you the same. ^[1]

What goes in a written hazardous communication program?

The written program is the piece most small businesses skip or half-finish. It doesn't have to be long. It does have to cover everything 29 CFR 1910.1200(e) requires. ^[1]

At minimum, your written program has to include:

• The name and title of the person responsible for the program
• How you build and update the chemical inventory
• How containers get labeled, including what to do with unlabeled containers or pipes
• Where SDS live and how employees reach them on every shift
• How and when training happens, for new hires and when new chemicals show up
• How you notify contractors about hazardous chemicals they may run into

OSHA doesn't hand out a required template, but it does publish a model program in its HazCom compliance guide. ^[1] A program for a five-person painting crew looks nothing like one for a 50-person fab shop. The standard is performance-based. It tells you the outcome to hit, not the exact wording of your document.

Here's what trips people up: the program has to describe your workplace. Generic boilerplate listing chemicals you don't use fails an inspection. If an inspector reads your program and can't tell what chemicals you use, who's in charge, and where the SDS are, expect a citation.

Want a structured starting point that already hits every required element? SafetyFolio's written safety program generator builds a HazCom-specific program for your industry and chemical list in about 15 minutes. That's not permission to skip the learning. You still need to understand what you're signing. But it beats a blank page.

Any good written safety program follows the same rule: it has to describe what your workplace actually does, not what a template assumes.

How do GHS labels work, and what must every container label include?

Container labels aren't decoration. Under 29 CFR 1910.1200(f), every container of a hazardous chemical shipped by a manufacturer or importer has to carry a GHS-compliant label, and employers have to keep those labels on the containers and readable. ^[1]

A complete GHS label has six required elements:

1. Product identifier (the chemical name or code that matches the SDS) 2. Signal word ("Danger" for more severe hazards, "Warning" for less severe) 3. Hazard statements (standardized phrases describing the hazard) 4. Precautionary statements (what to do to limit exposure or respond to an emergency) 5. Pictograms (the red-bordered diamonds; there are nine in the GHS set) 6. Supplier information (name, address, phone number of the manufacturer or importer)

Secondary containers, the ones you fill from a bigger stock drum, get a little more flexibility. If a container gets used immediately and only by the person who filled it, no label is technically required. But the second it sits overnight, changes hands, or gets set down and walked away from, it needs at least the product identifier and hazard information. ^[1] My advice: label everything. Tracking the exceptions is more work than the label.

Pipes are a special case. The standard doesn't require GHS labels on fixed piping, but employees still have to be able to identify what's inside and understand the hazards. Color codes, signs, or other methods work, as long as you explain the system in training and the written program. ^[1]

What are Safety Data Sheets, and what do all 16 sections cover?

A Safety Data Sheet is the detailed technical document that tells workers and emergency responders what they need to know about a hazardous chemical. Since June 1, 2015, every SDS for a U.S. workplace has to follow the 16-section GHS format. ^[1] The sections are numbered with fixed titles, so a worker who learns to read one SDS can find the same information in the same spot on every other one.

Section	Title	What it covers
1	Identification	Product name, uses, manufacturer contact
2	Hazard(s) identification	GHS classification, signal word, pictograms, hazard and precautionary statements
3	Composition/information on ingredients	Chemical identity, CAS numbers, concentration ranges
4	First-aid measures	What to do if someone is exposed
5	Fire-fighting measures	Extinguishing agents, special hazards
6	Accidental release measures	Spill cleanup, containment
7	Handling and storage	Safe handling practices, storage conditions
8	Exposure controls/personal protection	Permissible exposure limits, recommended PPE
9	Physical and chemical properties	Appearance, odor, flash point, boiling point, etc.
10	Stability and reactivity	Conditions to avoid, incompatible materials
11	Toxicological information	Routes of exposure, health effects, carcinogenicity
12	Ecological information	Environmental impact (not enforced by OSHA)
13	Disposal considerations	Disposal guidance (not enforced by OSHA)
14	Transport information	DOT/IATA/IMO classifications (not enforced by OSHA)
15	Regulatory information	Other federal/state regulations
16	Other information	Revision dates, any other relevant info

You need an SDS for every hazardous chemical in the workplace. ^[1] Can't get one from the manufacturer? You're required to contact them and demand it. If they refuse, that's their violation, but you still can't use the chemical without hazard information available to your people.

A question OSHA fields constantly: how long do you keep old SDS? Under 29 CFR 1910.1020, the Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records standard, exposure records have to be kept for 30 years. ^[5] An SDS for a chemical you no longer use counts as an exposure record if it documents past employee exposure. Don't toss them when you switch products.

What does HazCom training actually have to cover?

Training is where plenty of employers phone it in. A poster in the break room. A ten-minute video nobody watches. A sign-off sheet that proves attendance but not one bit of comprehension. None of that survives a real inspection.

29 CFR 1910.1200(h) requires training on four specific areas ^[1]:

1. The requirements of the HazCom standard itself, so employees understand their rights and the system 2. The operations in their work area where hazardous chemicals are present 3. Where the written program and SDS are located and how to reach them 4. How to detect a chemical's presence or release, the physical and health hazards of those chemicals, how to protect themselves, and how to read labels and SDS

Timing is not negotiable. Training has to happen before the employee works with hazardous chemicals. ^[1] Before first assignment. Not during week one, not after the orientation paperwork clears. When you bring in a new chemical, you owe additional training on that chemical.

The standard doesn't dictate a format. Classroom, one-on-one, online, video, all fine, as long as the content is complete and employees actually understand it. OSHA has stated in letters of interpretation that training has to be delivered in a language employees understand. ^[6] English-only training for Spanish-speaking employees is a compliance failure.

The HazCom standard doesn't explicitly require training records, but inspectors will ask for proof training happened. Keep sign-in sheets, quiz results, anything that shows who was trained, on what date, and on what topics. This is the same principle behind good workplace safety training: documented training beats undocumented training every time, even when the standard stays quiet about it.

One honest admission. OSHA has no standardized HazCom test. The rule says training has to be delivered so employees can understand it. Proving comprehension is genuinely hard, and nobody has clean data on which training formats produce better outcomes.

What chemicals are considered hazardous under the HazCom standard?

The definition decides what lands on your inventory and your SDS list, so it's worth getting right. Under 29 CFR 1910.1200, a hazardous chemical is "any chemical which is classified as a physical hazard or a health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, pyrophoric gas, or hazard not otherwise classified." ^[1]

Physical hazards cover flammables, explosives, oxidizers, compressed gases, reactive materials. Health hazards cover acute toxicity, skin corrosion, respiratory sensitizers, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and several other categories. The GHS classification system decides which bucket a chemical falls into.

Some things that surprise small business owners:

• Cleaning products count. Bleach, ammonia cleaners, drain openers, and oven cleaners are all hazardous chemicals under the standard.
• Welding fumes count. If your process generates a hazardous substance, HazCom covers it even though you never bought a bottle of it.
• Diesel exhaust counts. OSHA has addressed this in letters of interpretation.
• Pesticides and herbicides used in the workplace (not for sale) count.
• Food, drugs, cosmetics, and tobacco used by employees are exempt if they're for personal consumption. ^[1]
• Articles (solid objects that don't release hazardous chemicals in normal use) are exempt. A metal part that doesn't off-gas is an article. That same part while you're grinding it into hazardous dust is not.

The manufacturer or importer classifies the chemical and writes the SDS. You're responsible for knowing what's in your workplace and making sure the information reaches your employees. A supplier who hands you a chemical with no SDS and no classification is a problem on both ends.

How do you build a chemical inventory for your hazardous communication program?

Your chemical inventory is the foundation everything else rests on. Get it wrong and your SDS files come up short, your training misses chemicals, and your written program describes a workplace that doesn't exist.

Start by walking the whole facility with a notepad. Open every cabinet, storage room, production area, maintenance bay, and janitorial closet. Look for four categories:

• Purchased chemicals (cleaning supplies, lubricants, adhesives, paints, solvents, fuels)
• Process-generated chemicals (fumes, dusts, vapors from cutting, welding, machining, printing)
• Maintenance chemicals (degreasers, rust inhibitors, hydraulic fluid)
• Chemicals in pipes or tanks

For each one, record the product name, manufacturer, rough quantity, and where it's stored. Then match every product to its SDS. Missing one? Contact the manufacturer. Their contact info is on the product label and in Section 1 of the SDS.

Update the inventory whenever you add a chemical or retire one. Stale inventories are one of the most common findings in HazCom inspections.

Some employers run a plain spreadsheet. Others buy SDS management software that stores sheets, tracks revisions, and flags outdated ones (manufacturers are supposed to update an SDS when new hazard information surfaces). Under 20 chemicals? A spreadsheet is fine. A hundred-plus chemicals in a manufacturing plant? Software probably pays for itself.

If you're building from scratch, reading up on what a safety and health program should be helps. Chemical management sits inside a larger safety structure, not off by itself.

What are the most common HazCom violations OSHA cites, and how do you avoid them?

HazCom drew 2,723 citations in fiscal year 2023, one of OSHA's most-cited standards. ^[2] Knowing which violations show up most often is the fastest way to spend your compliance time well.

The usual suspects:

Missing or incomplete written program. Inspectors ask to see it first. Can't produce one, or it doesn't match your workplace, and you're cited. Fix: write a real program, keep it current, store it where employees and inspectors can reach it.

Missing SDS. Either no sheet at all for a chemical, or sheets that are outdated, locked away, or still in the old MSDS format. Fix: complete the inventory, match every chemical to a current SDS, and confirm employees can reach them on every shift.

Inadequate training. Too generic, English-only for non-English speakers, or undocumented. Fix: run and document chemical-specific training, in the languages your workers understand, before anyone touches a chemical.

Unlabeled or badly labeled containers. Secondary containers with no product name, faded or missing original labels. Fix: label everything, check labels on a schedule, and handle unlabeled containers on the spot.

Outdated or missing chemical inventory. The list doesn't match what's on the shelves. Fix: audit annually and every time you add or drop a chemical.

Here's a pattern worth remembering: inspectors often use a HazCom violation as the door into a bigger inspection. An inspector who spots one unlabeled container starts asking about your whole safety program. The HazCom citation is frequently the first domino.

How does the HazCom standard interact with other OSHA standards?

HazCom is a baseline, not the whole picture. For certain chemicals, OSHA layers substance-specific standards on top of it.

If your workers are exposed to asbestos, lead, benzene, formaldehyde, silica, hexavalent chromium, or any of the other named substances (most sitting in 29 CFR 1910.1001 through 1910.1450), those standards fold in HazCom elements but also add medical surveillance, exposure monitoring, biological limit values, and more. ^[1] A current SDS for asbestos-containing material does not satisfy the medical surveillance requirement in 29 CFR 1910.1001.

HazCom also ties straight into PPE selection. Section 8 of every SDS lists the recommended personal protective equipment for that chemical. Your PPE program under 29 CFR 1910.132 should point back to your SDS to justify the choices. ^[7] If an SDS calls for chemical-resistant gloves and your workers are bare-handed, you may have a HazCom training failure and a PPE violation at once.

The emergency action plan standard, 29 CFR 1910.38, crosses HazCom too. ^[8] Your emergency procedures should reflect the actual chemical hazards on site, beyond generic fire-evacuation instructions. Responders need to know what they might walk into.

HazCom also feeds your OSHA 300 recordkeeping. A chemical exposure that causes illness or injury has to go on the 300 log. ^[9] The SDS gives you what you need to decide whether an illness is work-related and recordable under 29 CFR 1904.

What does a hazardous communication program template need to include to actually pass an inspection?

A template is a starting point, not the finish line. OSHA doesn't certify or approve templates, and inspectors can smell a generic document filled in at the last minute.

A template that holds up during an inspection has to carry:

• Your company name and the responsible person's name. Not "the designated safety coordinator." A real name and title.
• Your chemical inventory, or a reference to where it lives. The program has to say where the list is kept.
• Your SDS location. Physical spot (cabinet, binder) or the electronic system, specific enough that a new hire could find it on day one.
• Your labeling procedure. Who keeps labels in place, what happens when one gets damaged, and how secondary containers get labeled.
• Your training schedule. When training runs (before first exposure, when new chemicals arrive), who runs it, and how it's documented.
• Your contractor notification procedure. How you tell outside contractors about chemical hazards and collect information on chemicals they bring in.

Templates from industry associations, OSHA's model programs, or a decent generator can hit all of these. The step that matters is filling in the fields for your real workplace instead of leaving them blank or generic.

Want to skip the blank-page problem and get a customized first draft fast? SafetyFolio's generator builds a HazCom-compliant written program in about 15 minutes, tailored to your industry and chemical profile. You still review it, edit it, and own it. But you start from something with the required structure already in place.

For how written programs fit your wider safety culture, the principles of effective safety incentive programs article is worth a read if you're building HazCom alongside other programs.

What are the OSHA penalties for HazCom violations in 2024?

OSHA raises its maximum penalties every year for inflation. As of January 2024, the structure is ^[3]:

• Other-than-serious violations: up to $16,131 per violation
• Serious violations: up to $16,131 per violation
• Willful or repeat violations: up to $161,323 per violation

In practice, OSHA runs the proposed penalty through an adjustment formula based on the employer's good faith, size, and history. Employers with fewer than 25 employees can get up to a 60% cut. Employers with 26 to 100 employees can get up to 40% off. A good-faith reduction can shave another 25%. Those reductions apply to the proposed penalty before it's issued, not after you contest it.

HazCom citations almost always land as "serious," because failing to warn employees about chemical hazards creates a real chance of serious physical harm. A shop with 15 unlabeled containers, no SDS, and no training could face five figures even after good-faith reductions.

Run the math. Five separate serious HazCom violations at the top rate come to $80,655 before any reductions. Knock off a 60% small-employer cut and a 25% good-faith cut and you're still around $24,000. That's a real hit for a business with 10 employees.

The business case is simple. Getting your HazCom program straight costs some time and maybe a few hundred dollars in materials or software. A single multi-item citation costs far more, and that's before you count what an injury from missing hazard information would cost you.

Frequently asked questions

What is hazardous communication in the workplace?

Hazardous communication is the system, labels, Safety Data Sheets, a written program, and training, that tells workers what chemicals they're exposed to and how to protect themselves. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) makes that system mandatory for nearly every employer whose workers may encounter hazardous chemicals. The goal is to stop chemical injuries and illnesses caused by workers not knowing what they're handling.

Is a written hazardous communication program required by OSHA?

Yes. 29 CFR 1910.1200(e) requires every covered employer to keep a written HazCom program. It has to be available to employees on request and has to describe your chemical inventory process, labeling procedures, SDS management, training approach, and contractor notification process. Inspectors ask to see it early. Not having one, or having one that doesn't match your actual workplace, is a citable violation.

How often does HazCom training need to happen?

Training has to happen before an employee first works with or is potentially exposed to a hazardous chemical. After that, new training is required when a new chemical hazard enters the work area. OSHA sets no mandatory annual refresher, though many compliance officers recommend an annual review anyway. Training is also required whenever the hazard information for a chemical changes significantly.

Can SDS be stored electronically instead of in paper binders?

Yes, OSHA allows electronic SDS storage. The catch is that access has to be immediate and reliable on every shift. If your system needs a supervisor password, sits only on one computer in a locked office, or goes dark in a power outage with no backup, it fails the access requirement. Many employers keep electronic SDS plus a paper backup binder for emergencies. That combination is hard to challenge in an inspection.

What is the difference between an SDS and an MSDS?

MSDS stands for Material Safety Data Sheet, the older format used before OSHA's 2012 GHS alignment. SDS (Safety Data Sheet) is the current 16-section GHS-compliant format, required since June 1, 2015. Old MSDS documents had no standardized structure. Current SDS documents use numbered, titled sections in a fixed order. If you still have MSDS for chemicals in use, get current SDS from the manufacturer.

Does the HazCom standard apply to small businesses with fewer than 10 employees?

Yes. HazCom has no employee-count exemption. A sole proprietor running a cleaning business with one part-time helper who uses bleach and ammonia products is covered by 29 CFR 1910.1200. The only size-related factor is penalty reductions during citation proceedings: employers with fewer than 25 employees can get up to a 60% reduction in proposed penalties. The compliance duty exists regardless of size.

What GHS pictograms are required on hazardous chemical labels?

The GHS system uses nine pictograms, each in a red-bordered diamond: flame (flammables), flame over circle (oxidizers), exploding bomb (explosives and self-reactives), skull and crossbones (acute toxicity), exclamation mark (irritants, less severe hazards), health hazard (carcinogens, reproductive toxins, sensitizers), corrosion (skin and metal corrosion), gas cylinder (compressed gases), and environment (aquatic hazards, not OSHA-enforced). Which ones appear depends on the chemical's GHS classification.

How long do you have to keep Safety Data Sheets for chemicals you no longer use?

OSHA's Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records standard (29 CFR 1910.1020) requires exposure records to be kept for 30 years. An SDS for a chemical no longer in use counts as an exposure record if it documents what workers were exposed to. Practical advice: archive old SDS rather than discard them. Digital storage makes this free, so there's little reason to delete them even decades later.

Do contractors working at my facility need to be included in my HazCom program?

You have to inform contractors and their employees about hazardous chemicals they may be exposed to at your site, the precautions to take, and where SDS are kept. They in turn have to tell you about hazardous chemicals they bring onto your premises. This two-way exchange is required by 29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(2). Address it directly in your written program and confirm it at every pre-job meeting with outside contractors.

What is the penalty for not having a written hazardous communication program?

A missing written HazCom program is typically cited as a serious violation. As of 2024, serious OSHA violations carry penalties up to $16,131 per violation. OSHA may cite the missing program as one violation and other HazCom failures (missing SDS, no training) as separate ones. Employers with fewer than 25 employees may get up to a 60% penalty reduction, but the citation still goes on your OSHA inspection record.

Does HazCom cover chemicals generated in work processes, like welding fumes?

Yes. 29 CFR 1910.1200 covers chemicals generated as byproducts of work processes, not only chemicals bought in containers. Welding fumes, diesel exhaust, silica dust from cutting or grinding, and wood dust from sawing all fall under HazCom. Employers have to identify these process-generated hazards, add them to the chemical inventory, keep relevant SDS or equivalent hazard information available, and train workers on the specific hazards.

Can I use a hazardous communication program template from the internet?

You can use a template as a starting point, but a template alone is not compliance. Inspectors recognize generic programs on sight. Every field that references your company, responsible person, specific chemicals, SDS locations, and training schedule has to be filled in accurately for your actual workplace. A template that lists chemicals you don't use, or skips a training procedure, fails an inspection just as surely as having no program at all.

How does OSHA's HazCom standard relate to the GHS system?

In 2012, OSHA revised 29 CFR 1910.1200 to align with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). That revision standardized the 16-section SDS format, required GHS pictogram-based labels, and set uniform hazard classification criteria. The goal was consistency across global supply chains. The U.S. adopted GHS with some modifications, so not every element matches other countries' versions exactly.

What records do I need to keep for my hazardous communication program?

OSHA requires you to keep the written program, current SDS for all chemicals, and your chemical inventory. HazCom itself doesn't mandate training records, but keep them anyway because inspectors will ask for proof training happened. Training records should show the date, topics covered, the trainer's name, and each employee's signature. SDS for chemicals no longer in use should be archived for 30 years under 29 CFR 1910.1020.

Sources

1. OSHA, Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), full standard text and overview: Requirements for written programs, SDS, labeling, training, chemical inventory, contractor notifications, and GHS alignment under the HazCom standard
2. OSHA, Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards FY2023: Hazard Communication was among the most frequently cited OSHA standards in FY2023 with 2,723 violations
3. OSHA, Penalties page (2024 penalty adjustments): Serious and other-than-serious violations up to $16,131; willful or repeat violations up to $161,323 as of 2024
4. OSHA, State Plans overview: 22 state plans covering 29 states and territories may have HazCom requirements at least as protective as the federal standard
5. OSHA, Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records (29 CFR 1910.1020): Employee exposure records, including SDS for chemicals workers were exposed to, must be retained for 30 years
6. OSHA, Letter of Interpretation: HazCom training must be in a language employees understand: OSHA requires HazCom training to be conducted in a language and vocabulary that employees can understand
7. OSHA, Personal Protective Equipment standard (29 CFR 1910.132): PPE selection must be based on assessed hazards including chemical hazards identified through SDS and HazCom programs
8. OSHA, Emergency Action Plans standard (29 CFR 1910.38): Emergency action plans must reflect specific chemical hazards present in the workplace
9. OSHA, Recordkeeping rule (29 CFR 1904): Work-related illnesses and injuries from chemical exposures must be recorded on the OSHA 300 log
10. OSHA, Hazard Communication overview page: 32 million workers exposed to hazardous chemicals: OSHA estimates 32 million workers are exposed to hazardous chemicals at work annually