WHMIS Roles and Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under WHMIS, what is a supplier's primary obligation when shipping a controlled product?
- Provide worker training at the buyer's site
- Affix a supplier label and provide an SDS (Correct answer)
- Notify the government before each shipment
- Ensure the buyer has a joint health and safety committee
Correct answer: Affix a supplier label and provide an SDS
Suppliers must attach a compliant supplier label to the container and provide a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to the purchaser.
Question 2: Which party has the legal duty to conduct WHMIS training for workers in the workplace?
- The product supplier
- The federal government
- The employer (Correct answer)
- The joint health and safety committee
Correct answer: The employer
Employers are legally required to provide WHMIS education and training to all workers who work with or near controlled products.
Question 3: A supervisor notices a container of a hazardous chemical has a damaged or missing label. What is the supervisor's responsibility?
- Allow work to continue until a replacement label arrives
- Remove the container from the workplace immediately
- Ensure the container is re-labeled before use (Correct answer)
- Contact the supplier and wait for their instruction
Correct answer: Ensure the container is re-labeled before use
Supervisors must ensure that all controlled products are properly labeled before workers use them.
Question 4: Under WHMIS, workers have the right to refuse to work with a hazardous product if which condition exists?
- The product has an unfamiliar smell
- They have not received training and information about its hazards (Correct answer)
- The product was manufactured outside North America
- The SDS is older than one year
Correct answer: They have not received training and information about its hazards
Workers have the right to refuse dangerous work, including work with hazardous products for which they have not received adequate WHMIS training.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the role of a joint health and safety committee (JHSC) in WHMIS?
- Issuing supplier labels and SDS documents
- Conducting government inspections of workplaces
- Participating in identifying hazards and recommending corrective actions (Correct answer)
- Providing mandatory WHMIS certification to workers
Correct answer: Participating in identifying hazards and recommending corrective actions
JHSCs participate in hazard identification, review WHMIS programs, and make recommendations to improve workplace safety.
Question 6: An employer receives a new chemical product with no SDS from the supplier. What must the employer do?
- Use the product cautiously until the SDS arrives
- Request the SDS from the supplier before allowing workers to use the product (Correct answer)
- Create a workplace label as a substitute for the SDS
- Report the supplier to OSHA immediately
Correct answer: Request the SDS from the supplier before allowing workers to use the product
Employers must obtain the SDS from the supplier before the product is used in the workplace to ensure worker safety information is available.
Question 7: Under WHMIS, what is a worker's responsibility regarding their own safety training?
- Workers have no formal responsibility — training is entirely the employer's concern
- Workers must participate in WHMIS training and apply what they have learned (Correct answer)
- Workers must pass a government-approved WHMIS certification exam annually
- Workers are responsible for obtaining their own SDS copies from suppliers
Correct answer: Workers must participate in WHMIS training and apply what they have learned
Workers are responsible for participating in WHMIS training provided by the employer and for applying safe work practices based on that training.
WHMIS Roles and Responsibilities 2
Under WHMIS, what is a supplier's primary obligation when shipping a controlled product?