On February 11, 2015 the federal government announced that the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) legislation has been updated to align with the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).  This legislation comes into effect today but there is a transition period during which suppliers and employers will be able to comply with the old (WHMIS 1988) or new (WHMIS 2015) systems.  For more information, please refer to our bulletin Changes to WHMIS Legislation, available online at http://work.alberta.ca/documents/OHS-Bulletin-CH009.pdf.

ASTM International recently published a new standard that provides a method for making valid exposure measurements for crystalline silica exposures in industry. According to ASTM, the Standard Test Method for Measurement of Respirable Crystalline Silica in Workplace Air by Infrared Spectrometry “specifies a generic sampling and analytical method for measurement of the mass concentration of respirable crystalline silica in workplace air using infrared spectrometric methods.” The standard is intended for use by agencies concerned with health and safety at work; industrial hygienists and other public health professionals; analytical laboratories; and industrial users of silica-containing products and their workers.

For more information, visit ASTM’s website.