WHMIS Education and Training 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under WHMIS, who bears primary responsibility for providing hazard communication training to workers?
- The federal government
- The employer (Correct answer)
- The worker themselves
- The chemical supplier
Correct answer: The employer
Employers are legally required under WHMIS to provide education and training so workers can protect their health and safety.
Question 2: Which key skill must WHMIS training ensure workers develop?
- Negotiating prices with chemical suppliers
- Reading and interpreting SDS and labels (Correct answer)
- Manufacturing hazardous products safely
- Filing government compliance reports
Correct answer: Reading and interpreting SDS and labels
WHMIS training must enable workers to read, interpret, and apply information found on labels and Safety Data Sheets.
Question 3: When must WHMIS training be completed relative to a worker's exposure to hazardous products?
- Within 30 days of starting work
- After the first workplace incident occurs
- Before the worker handles or works near hazardous products (Correct answer)
- At the end of the worker's probationary period
Correct answer: Before the worker handles or works near hazardous products
Workers must be trained before exposure — training after the fact does not protect them from hazards they may have already encountered.
Question 4: What does 'site-specific' training mean under WHMIS?
- Training delivered at a government-approved testing facility
- Training covering the actual hazardous products present at the worker's specific workplace (Correct answer)
- Online training modules completed remotely
- Training focused on local municipal regulations
Correct answer: Training covering the actual hazardous products present at the worker's specific workplace
Site-specific training goes beyond generic WHMIS principles to address the actual products, hazards, and procedures at the worker's own workplace.
Question 5: What is the primary goal of WHMIS education and training programs?
- To reduce procurement costs for hazardous materials
- To eliminate all chemical use in the workplace
- To enable workers to protect their own health and safety when working with hazardous products (Correct answer)
- To satisfy insurance audit requirements
Correct answer: To enable workers to protect their own health and safety when working with hazardous products
The overarching purpose of WHMIS training is to give workers the knowledge and skills needed to work safely with hazardous products.
Question 6: Which group of workers must receive WHMIS hazard communication training?
- Only supervisors and health and safety officers
- Only workers who directly pour or mix chemicals
- All workers who may be exposed to or work in proximity to hazardous products (Correct answer)
- Only full-time permanent employees
Correct answer: All workers who may be exposed to or work in proximity to hazardous products
Any worker who could be exposed to hazardous products — including those working nearby — must receive appropriate WHMIS training.
Question 7: Why are Safety Data Sheets (SDS) a central part of WHMIS training content?
- They document worker performance evaluations
- They help workers understand chemical hazards and safe handling, storage, and emergency procedures (Correct answer)
- They are required only for shipping documentation
- They serve as purchase orders for hazardous products
Correct answer: They help workers understand chemical hazards and safe handling, storage, and emergency procedures
SDS provide detailed hazard, first-aid, storage, and disposal information that workers need to handle products safely.
WHMIS Education and Training 2
Under WHMIS, who bears primary responsibility for providing hazard communication training to workers?