ILMA Compoundings May 2017 - 8

INDUSTRY RUNDOWN

Infrastructure Spending
and OSHA Compliance
PROPOSED INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING
President Donald Trump renewed his commitment to invest
in infrastructure projects in late March. States were asked to
submit high-priority projects to be included in the president's
infrastructure plan. As a result, over 400 projects were filed
through the National Governor's Association. The details of
those projects have not yet been published.
In addition to the president's commitment to infrastructure investments and improvements, there is also broad
public support. Onvia's latest market research report, Sizing
Up B2G Infrastructure, shows "$200 billion in voter-approved
projects in November 2016 - supporting short-term
growth over next 2-3 years and says that the outlook for
government infrastructure contracts is healthy."
Industry sectors examined by Onvia were construction,
engineering, architecture, energy and water, with construction
having the most proposed projects. Onvia found that 23,694
individual construction projects worth at least $1 million
are planned for 2017-18. When broken down by structure
type, approximately 7,400 opportunities are in roadway jobs,
followed by almost 4,000 utility and dam projects.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a massive infrastructure
bill could benefit heavy equipment manufacturers whose
sales were affected by struggling agriculture, construction
and mining markets. That will also have a positive impact
on lubricant manufacturers.
OSHA CLEARS UP GHS COMPLIANCE
Recently, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) published on its website a memorandum issued in
September 2016. That memo provides guidance for chemical industry professionals tasked with maintaining compliance with the updated Globally Harmonized System (GHS)
Hazard Communication Standard, or 2012 HCS.
This memo makes it clear that employers "are allowed to
maintain and use those containers with HCS 1994 labels" as
long as the labels are not removed or defaced.
HCS 2012-compliant labels were required on all containers shipped by chemical manufacturers and importers as of
June 1, 2015. However, should a manufacturer or importer
show that they "exercised reasonable diligence and good-

MAY 2017

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faith efforts to obtain hazard classification information from
the upstream suppliers," but in the end could not, they have
until June 1, 2017, to update labels.
OSHA is continuing its partnership with Health Canada,
and the two countries are working to minimize differences
in HCS 2012 and Canada's Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System (WHMIS) 2015.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUDGET CUTS
Trump is looking to slash the Department of Labor's
budget by 21 percent in 2018. The president's budget
blueprint promises to focus "the Department of Labor on its
highest-priority functions and disinvest in activities that are
duplicative, unnecessary, unproven or ineffective."
The budget points to Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and Job Corps as examples of
activities that are duplicative and ineffective. Included in the
budget is a decrease in federal support for job training and
employment service formula grants, shifting that responsibility to states, localities and employers.
That does not mean the new administration is eliminating
job training. Help will be given to states looking to expand
apprenticeships, which the White House describes as an
evidence-based approach to preparing workers for jobs.
"President Trump's proposed budget ensures the Department of Labor focuses its resources on protecting workers
and advancing opportunity," Jillian Rogers, a department
spokeswoman, said in a statement given March 16.

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ILMA Compoundings May 2017

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