The Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA) asked OSHA for an additional two-year extension for relabeling extremely long shelf life non-pesticide agricultural products, such as tank-mix adjuvants and biostimulants. These products are produced seasonally or once every two to three years, and can cycle through sale, return, and resale events over five years or longer.
OSHA refused. Under HCS 2012, manufacturers had to ship compliant labels by June 1, 2015, and distributors by December 1, 2015. OSHA had already exercised enforcement discretion allowing distributors to ship existing packaged stock for two additional years, until December 1, 2017, provided they supplied an HCS 2012-compliant label for each and every individual container shipped (29 CFR 1910.1200(j)(2), 1910.1200(j)(2)(i)).
The agency's reasoning: further extending the relabeling timeline would impede the critical communication of new hazardous chemical information to downstream workers, since that information includes the hazards and protective measures related to a hazardous chemical. OSHA said compliance would be evaluated case-by-case, but no blanket extension would be granted.