Degreasers, solvents, adhesives, paints, lubricants, compressed gases: almost every maintenance storeroom holds hazardous chemicals. In Mexico, NOM-018-STPS-2015 requires each one to be identified and requires workers to know what they are exposed to. In practice it comes down to three things: safety data sheets, labels and training.
What is NOM-018-STPS-2015?
It is the standard from Mexico's Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) that establishes the harmonized system for identifying and communicating the hazards and risks of hazardous chemicals in the workplace. It was published in the Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on October 9, 2015 and replaced NOM-018-STPS-2000, the one with the colored diamond and rectangle that many plants still have on their walls.
The current version adopts the United Nations Globally Harmonized System (GHS): the same classification criteria, pictograms and data sheet format your suppliers use in the United States, Europe or Asia. It applies to workplaces where hazardous chemicals are handled; the standard's own scope section defines which products are excluded.
What it requires from the workplace
In general terms, the standard requires the employer to:
- Implement the harmonized system for identifying and communicating hazards for the hazardous chemicals and mixtures handled on site.
- Have the safety data sheet (SDS) for each one and keep it available to workers in the areas where it is used.
- Sign or label the tanks, containers and storage areas that hold them.
- Inform workers and contractors about the hazards of the substances they are exposed to.
- Train the personnel who handle them so they can read the SDS and the labeling.
This list is a summary for orientation. The text published in the Official Gazette is the reference for an audit or an inspection.
The safety data sheet (SDS): 16 sections, in Spanish
The SDS (hoja de datos de seguridad, HDS) is the document the manufacturer or importer prepares with everything there is to know about a product. Under GHS it has 16 sections in a fixed order, and the Mexican standard requires it to be in Spanish. You do not need to memorize them, but you do need to know where to look:
- Sections 1 to 3: what the product is, who makes it, what its hazards are and what it contains.
- Sections 4 to 6: what to do in an emergency: first aid, fire and spills.
- Sections 7 and 8: how to handle and store it, and what personal protective equipment it requires.
- Sections 9 to 11: physical and chemical properties, stability, reactivity and toxicological information.
- Sections 12 to 16: ecological information, disposal, transport, regulation and other data.
For a plant on the border this has a direct consequence: if you buy a product in the United States and it arrives only with its English SDS, you are still missing the Spanish version. Ask for it on the purchase order, not once the product is already on the shelf.
The label: what every container must say
The label is what the worker sees before opening the container. The elements of a GHS label are:
- The name of the substance or mixture, matching the one on the SDS.
- The hazard pictograms: the red-bordered diamond with a black symbol.
- The signal word: "Danger" (Peligro) for the more severe hazards or "Warning" (Atención) for the less severe ones.
- The hazard statements (H phrases) and precautionary statements (P phrases).
- The manufacturer or supplier details.
The weak point is almost always decanting: the product arrives properly labeled in its drum, but ends up in unidentified spray bottles, jugs or cans on the line. No container holding a hazardous substance should be left without a name and pictograms.
Common mistakes on the plant floor
- The SDS binder exists, but it sits in a locked office and not where the product is used.
- Some sheets are in English, in the old format or for products no longer purchased, and the new ones are missing.
- The brand or supplier changed and nobody requested the SDS for the substitute product.
- Secondary containers marked by hand with a nickname, or not marked at all.
- Staff recognize the old colored diamond but cannot read the current pictograms.
- There is no up-to-date list of which chemicals are on site or where they are.
How to catch up in six steps
- Take inventory: walk the storeroom, lines and shops and list every chemical product, its supplier and its location.
- Collect the SDSs: ask each supplier for the current sheet, in Spanish and with all 16 sections.
- Check the labels: original packaging and, above all, secondary containers.
- Bring the information closer: make the SDSs available in every area where the product is handled, printed or digital.
- Train: teach staff to read pictograms, labels and SDSs, and tie section 8 to the PPE they actually have available.
- Close the front door: purchasing should not set up any new chemical without its SDS in Spanish.
The last step is the one that keeps things in order. The fewer suppliers and equivalent products you have, the fewer sheets there are to obtain and keep current.
FAQ
What does NOM-018-STPS-2015 require?
That the workplace identify and communicate the hazards of the hazardous chemicals it handles: a safety data sheet for each one available to staff, containers and areas labeled, and workers informed and trained.
Is a safety data sheet in English enough in Mexico?
No. The standard requires the SDS in Spanish and with the 16 sections of the Globally Harmonized System. If the product is imported, request the Spanish version from the manufacturer or supplier.
Do secondary containers need a label?
Yes. Labeling applies to the tanks and containers that hold hazardous chemicals, not only to the original packaging. An unidentified spray bottle or jug is one of the most common findings.
IMS Global, your ally in safety and hygiene
At IMS Global we supply industrial maintenance chemicals, personal protective equipment and safety and hygiene consumables as part of our MRO portfolio, in Mexico and the United States. With our on-site vendor managed inventory (VMI) program and the SAMI system you consolidate suppliers and know which product is at each point of use, which is the basis for keeping the documentation in order. If you are reviewing how your plant handles chemicals, let's talk.