§ 28-21-3. Employer notice requirements — Chemical identification lists.
(a)(1) Each employer shall obtain and maintain chemical identification lists containing the
following information with regard to the chemical substances:
(i) The common and trade names of all designated substances present in the workplace in
alphabetical order, cross referenced to their chemical names;
(ii) For mixtures, the list shall contain the chemical and/or trade names of any mixture
that contains designated substances present in amounts greater than one percent (1%)
of a volume of more than two gallons (2 gals.) or 10 pounds (10 lbs.) within the workplace
except in the case of carcinogens, mutagen, or teratogen that shall be reported if
they are present in amounts of one part per ten thousand (10,000) by volume or greater;
and, provided, that nothing contained in this subdivision precludes the director of
labor and training from establishing more stringent standards pursuant to rules and
regulations in conformity with the administrative procedures act, chapter 35 of title 42.
(2) The chemical identification list shall include the individual designated substances
present in the mixture except as provided in §â€‚28-21-10.
(b) Each employer shall obtain a material safety data sheet for each designated substance
or mixture containing the designated substance that must conform to the federal Occupational
Safety and Health Administration regulations on preparing material safety data sheets,
 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200(g).
(c) Upon being advised by an employer that the employer has made efforts to obtain material
safety data sheets or other information necessary to determine whether a substance
that is in the employer's workplace is, may be, or may contain a designated substance,
which efforts are documented and include, but are not limited to, a certified letter
to the manufacturer, supplier, and/or distributor of the substance, and which efforts
have resulted in failure to obtain the necessary information, the employer shall advise
the department of labor and training of the failure within forty-five (45) days of
the date the information was originally requested by the employer. The department
of labor and training shall make demand of the manufacturer for the requested information,
and shall notify the manufacturer that the manufacturer will be prohibited from selling
or distributing the substance to any employer in Rhode Island unless the manufacturer
supplies the information within ninety (90) days from the date the employer first
requested the information. In the case of a mixture, the department of labor and training
shall grant a variance to the employer that shall extend the above time period to
one hundred eighty (180) days. The department of labor and training will make every
effort to assist the employer in obtaining the necessary information. Until the necessary
information is forthcoming from the manufacturer or otherwise obtained, the employer
shall treat the mixture for which it has not received or developed the necessary information
as a designated substance, until proven otherwise, and will protect employees accordingly,
which protection shall include the listing of the mixture as a designated substance.
(d) Each employer covered by this chapter shall annually submit to the department of labor
and training:
(1) An updated chemical identification list;
(2) Documentation detailing the nature of training provided employees as called for in
§â€‚28-21-9. The documentation shall be in a standardized form determined by the department.