MSDS for Forklift Battery - Do I need to get an MSDS for our forklift batteries?

[SheliaB]

Do I need to get an MSDS for our forklift batteries?

Thanks you guys for all your help

SheliaB

 

[Stijloor]

Re: MSDS for Forklift Battery

Do I need to get an MSDS for our forklift batteries?

Thanks you guys for all your help

SheliaB

YES!

Here is an example....

And....Google is your friend. Look here.

Stijloor.

 

[somerqc]

Re: MSDS for Forklift Battery

Check with the manufacturer (or reseller) of your forklift. They should have the MSDS on file.

 

[Marty50]

Re: MSDS for Forklift Battery

Or the battery manufacturer?

 

[Randy]

Re: MSDS for Forklift Battery

This isn't a YES at all.

What is the requirement under 29CFR 1910.1200? The battery may be classified as a consumer commodity and the labels on it may suffice, or the battery may be classified as a vehicle component, precluding the need for an MSDS. You just can't say yes.

Are your employees working with the battery during the normal course of their work, or is the battery just in the forklift?

MSDS's aren't an ISO 14001 requirement, they're primarily a safety requirement mandated by OSHA for employee safety in the workplaceand and are a communication tool.

 

[Stijloor]

Re: MSDS for Forklift Battery

This isn't a YES at all.

What is the requirement under 29CFR 1910.1200? The battery may be classified as a consumer commodity and the labels on it may suffice, or the battery may be classified as a vehicle component, precluding the need for an MSDS. You just can't say yes.

Are your employees working with the battery during the normal course of their work, or is the battery just in the forklift?

MSDS's aren't an ISO 14001 requirement, they're primarily a safety requirement mandated by OSHA for employee safety in the workplaceand and are a communication tool.

Randy,

I am confused....

If an MSDS for a forklift battery is not a requirement, why would a manufacturer (as in my earlier post) develop and publish them?

I know that this is not an ISO 14001 requirement. But OSHA?

Thanks for your help.

Stijloor.

 

[Randy]

MSDS's are primarily a safety document for workers in the workplace and are required of manufacturers to generate.

Under federal OSHA guidelines if a material is a consumer commodity it falls under the CPSA and the warning labels suffice.

A MSDS for a materialor substance is only required if a worker "uses" the material in the course of their work. A battery in a forklift isn't used by the worker unless he/she services that battery (charging it while in the vehicle doesn't count). Now if someone is adament about a MSDS sheet for a battery in a forklift then they better come up with an emergency shower that can be kept within 10 feet of that worker at all times that he/she is around the battery because the battery contains corrosive material.

Guys, my background is Occupational Safety & Health Management and I've been down this trail with California/Federal OSHA and won.

 

[Stijloor]

Thank you Randy for your excellent explanation.

Stijloor.

 

[dkmnem]

If the battery is a consumer commodity do you still need to report the acid on your Tier II report? The threshold for Sulfuric Acid is 500# but if we do not service the battery, other than charging in the forklift, is there a need to report? Thanks

 

[Randy]

Only if you have about a gazillion batteries maybe. I've never seen it though.