Sec. 502.003. DEFINITIONS

In this chapter:

(1) "Article" means a manufactured item:

(A) that is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture;

(B) that has end-use functions dependent in whole or in part on its shape or design during end use; and

(C) that does not release, or otherwise result in exposure to, a hazardous chemical under normal conditions of use.

(2) "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.

(3) "Chemical manufacturer" means an employer in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes 20-39 with a workplace where chemicals are produced for use or distribution.

(4) "Chemical name" means:

(A) the scientific designation of a chemical in accordance with the nomenclature system developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) or the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) rules of nomenclature; or

(B) a name that clearly identifies the chemical for the purpose of conducting a hazard evaluation.

(5) "Common name" means a designation of identification, such as a code name, code number, trade name, brand name, or generic name, used to identify a chemical other than by its chemical name.

(6) "Department" means the Texas Department of Health.

(7) "Designated representative" means the individual or organization to whom an employee gives written authorization to exercise the employee's rights under this chapter, except that a recognized or certified collective bargaining agent is a designated representative regardless of written employee authorization.

(8) "Director" means the director of the Texas Department of Health.

(9) "Distributor" means a business in Standard Industrial Classification Major Industry Group 516 or 517 that supplies hazardous chemicals to an employer who must comply with this Act.

(10) "Employee" means a person who may be or may have been exposed to hazardous chemicals in the person's workplace under normal operating conditions or foreseeable emergencies, and includes a person working for this state, a person working for a political subdivision of this state, or a member of a volunteer emergency service organization or, if the applicable OSHA standard or MSHA standard is not in effect, a person working for a private employer. Workers such as office workers or accountants who encounter hazardous chemicals only in nonroutine, isolated instances are not employees for purposes of this chapter.

(11) "Employer" means a person engaged in private business who is regulated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Pub. L. No. 91-596), the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Pub. L. No. 91-173), or the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 (Pub. L. No. 95-164) on the effective date of this Act, or the state or a political subdivision of the state, including a state, county, or municipal agency, a public school, a college or university, a river authority or publicly owned utility, a volunteer emergency service organization, and other similar employers. The term does not include any person to whom the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Pub. L. No. 91-596), the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Pub. L. No. 91-173), or the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 (Pub. L. No. 95-164) is applicable if that employer is covered by the OSHA standard or the other two federal laws.

(12) "Expose" or "exposure" means that an employee is subjected to a hazardous chemical in the course of employment through any route of entry, including inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, or absorption. The term includes potential, possible, or accidental exposure under normal conditions of use or in a reasonably foreseeable emergency.

(13) "Hazardous chemical" or "chemical" means an element, compound, or mixture of elements or compounds that is a physical hazard or health hazard as defined by the OSHA standard in 29 CFR Section 1910.1200(c), or a hazardous substance as defined by the OSHA standard in 29 CFR Section 1910.1200(d)(3), or by OSHA's written interpretations. A hazard determination may be made by employers who choose not to rely on the evaluations made by their suppliers if there are relevant qualitative or quantitative differences. A hazard determination shall involve the best professional judgment.

(14) "Health hazard" has the meaning given that term by the OSHA standard (29 CFR 1910.1200(c)).

(15) "Identity" means a chemical or common name, or alphabetical or numerical identification, that is indicated on the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the chemical. The identity used must permit cross-references to be made among the workplace chemical list, the label, and the MSDS.

(16) "Label" means any written, printed, or graphic material displayed on or affixed to a container of hazardous chemicals.

(17) "Material Safety Data Sheet" ("MSDS") means a document containing chemical hazard and safe handling information that is prepared in accordance with the requirements of the OSHA standard for that document.

(18) "MSHA standard" means the Hazard Communication Standard issued by the Mining Safety and Health Administration.

(19) "OSHA standard" means the Hazard Communication Standard issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and codified as 29 CFR Section 1910.1200.

(20) "Physical hazard" means a chemical for which there is scientifically valid evidence that it is a combustible liquid, a compressed gas, explosive, flammable, an organic peroxide, an oxidizer, pyrophoric, unstable (reactive), or water-reactive in terms defined in the OSHA standard.

(21) "Temporary workplace" means a stationary workplace that is staffed less than 20 hours a week. A temporary workplace may be considered to be a work area of the headquarters workplace from which employees are routinely dispatched. Temporary workplaces may include pumping stations, emergency response sites, and similar workplaces.

(22) "Work area" means a room, a defined space, a utility structure, or an emergency response site in a workplace where hazardous chemicals are present, produced, or used and where employees are present.

(23) "Workplace" means an establishment, job site, or project, at one geographical location containing one or more work areas, with or without buildings, that is staffed 20 or more hours a week.

(24) "Workplace chemical list" means a list of hazardous chemicals developed under Section 502.005(a).

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 528, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.