Chemical safety: hazard labeling, safety data sheets and CLP

Paint, hardeners, solvents and degreasing agents are a permanent part of the surface finisher's day. What they all have in common is that they are labeled and regulated according to fixed rules, which you must be able to read and understand — not just for the sake of the law, but for your own and your colleagues' safety.

CLP Regulation (EU Regulation No. 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures) establishes among other things the orange and red hazard symbols you see on the package. The symbols provide a quick, standardized visual warning about the product's main hazards regardless of what language the label is otherwise written in.

• 01Flame: product is flammable
• 02Etching: the product is corrosive to skin, eyes or materials
• 03Health hazard: the product can damage organs, airways or breathing with prolonged exposure
• 04Hazard to the environment: the product is harmful to the aquatic environment
• 05Exclamation mark: the product irritates skin eyes or airways.

According to the REACH regulation, the supplier must provide a safety data sheet for hazardous chemical products, structured according to a fixed template with 16 points — from composition and first aid to handling, storage and disposal. The data sheet must be accessible at the workplace in a language the employees understand and should be reviewed before a new product is used.

Many two-component paints and hardeners contain isocyanates or epoxy. According to the Work Authority's rules, it is prohibited to spray-apply products with epoxy or isocyanates outside of closed systems — spray booths or boxes with effective extraction. Outside a closed system, products may only be applied with simple technical aids such as brush, roller, putty knife or caulking gun.

For spray work with epoxy- and isocyanate-containing products air-supplied respiratory protection must always be used. Persons with asthma eczema isocyanate allergy chronic lung disease or heavily sweating hands are according to the rules not permitted to work with isocyanate-containing products. In addition persons who perform or supervise work with isocyanates must undergo special training which must be renewed every 5 years.

Chemical safety is not about slowing down work, but about knowing what you are dealing with. Residues of paint, solvents and chemical baths are usually hazardous waste that must be sorted and disposed of according to the rules — that is also part of the professional pride in the trade.