Chemical right to know — what workers and communities are owed, and who owes it
“Right to know” covers two separate duties. For workers, OSHA's Hazard Communication standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires employers with hazardous chemicals to label every container, keep a safety data sheet (SDS) for each chemical where workers can reach it during every shift, train workers, and keep a written program with a chemical list. For communities, EPCRA requires facilities holding hazardous chemicals at or above set thresholds to send SDSs or a chemical list to local emergency planners and the fire department, and to file an inventory report by March 1 each year. States can add their own rules. OSHA Scan helps on both sides: scan a container label, attach its SDS, and give your crew phone access through a room QR poster; then, for each site, check the amounts you enter against the federal Tier II thresholds, print a right-to-know notice, record training, and start a draft written program for review. It never trains workers, finalizes your program, or files reports. The free 12-point checklist below covers both sides.
Photo scan: no account needed (you may be asked for the free phone Access Pass) · Template downloads: free account required
Chemical right to know, one duty at a time
Right to know reaches the shop floor and the fire station. These guides cover the poster question, the label symbols workers learn to read, and the yearly inventory report your community relies on.
Right to know poster
Whether OSHA requires a HazCom poster (it doesn't), what does have to be posted or told, and one state example.
GHS pictograms
All nine symbols, the hazard classes behind each one, and the precedence rules that decide which ones appear.
EPCRA Tier II reporting
Who files, the 10,000 and 500 pound thresholds, the March 1 deadline, and which three agencies get the report.
Two laws use the same three words — and most sites only think about one
Ask a supervisor about right to know and you'll usually hear about safety data sheets in a binder. That's half the picture. Under OSHA's Hazard Communication standard, workers are entitled to know what they're handling: every container labeled, an SDS for every hazardous chemical in their work area that they can get during the shift, and training when they start and whenever a new chemical hazard arrives. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), people outside the fence are entitled to know too — the local emergency planning committee and the fire department that would answer a call at your address.
The two duties draw on the same raw material. The chemical list your hazard communication program requires is where an EPCRA threshold check starts, and the SDSs workers rely on are the same documents a facility may have to send to local planners. When the list drifts — a product added without its SDS, a drum relabeled by hand, a storage room nobody inventoried — both sides fail at once. OSHA Scan supports both: it reads container labels into a chemical library, keeps the manufacturer's SDS with each entry, and prints room QR posters so the crew can open a sheet on their phones, and its Right-to-Know area checks each site's entered amounts against the federal Tier II thresholds. Measuring amounts, filing, and training stay with you, and the checklist below lays out both sides.
Worker right to know, community right to know, and state laws on top
OSHA's standard sets the federal floor for workers. It applies to any hazardous chemical present in a way that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use or in a foreseeable emergency, and it rests on four pieces: a written hazard communication program with a list of the hazardous chemicals present, labels on every container, an SDS for each chemical kept readily accessible during each work shift, and training at initial assignment and whenever a new chemical hazard enters the work area. Containers filled on site can carry the full shipped label, or the product identifier plus words, pictures, or symbols that give general hazard information backed by the rest of the program. A separate OSHA rule on employee exposure and medical records (29 CFR 1910.1020) adds a notice duty: when workers start and at least once a year, employers must tell them those records exist, where they are, who keeps them, and that workers have a right to see them.
EPCRA covers the community side. Sections 311 and 312 apply to facilities that must keep SDSs under OSHA's standard and hold a hazardous chemical at or above its reporting threshold — 10,000 pounds for most chemicals, and 500 pounds or the threshold planning quantity, whichever is lower, for extremely hazardous substances. Those facilities send SDSs or a chemical list to the state emergency response commission, the local emergency planning committee, and the fire department, then file an inventory report by March 1 each year. EPA lets states add chemicals, lower thresholds, and ask for more information, and some states have their own worker right-to-know laws. New Jersey's law, for example, requires public employers to post the state's Right to Know poster. Check your state agency before you treat the federal rules as the whole list.
How to meet chemical right-to-know duties
Run through these steps before crews start — each one covers a visible gap the AI can help you catch.
- 1
Inventory the chemicals you actually have
Walk every storage room, cabinet, and work area and record each hazardous chemical as its label identifies it. Scanning container labels into OSHA Scan builds this list as a searchable library.
- 2
Match each chemical to its current SDS
Get the manufacturer's SDS for every product on the list and attach it to the library entry, so the right sheet opens on a phone.
- 3
Fix labels and set up shift access
Relabel any container that's unmarked or unreadable, then decide how workers reach SDSs on every shift — a binder, a station, or a room QR poster printed from the library.
- 4
Train the crew and write it down
Train workers on the hazards in their area and how to use labels and SDSs, and describe your labeling, SDS, and training methods in the written program. OSHA Scan can record your training sessions and start a draft program from your chemical list, but the training and the final program are yours.
- 5
Check community reporting thresholds
Total the maximum amount of each hazardous chemical on site, compare it with EPCRA thresholds and your state's rules, and file what applies by March 1. OSHA Scan compares the amounts you enter with the federal thresholds and builds a worksheet; checking state rules and filing stay with you.
What a label scan contributes to right to know
A scan can't decide which laws apply to your facility, but it turns the containers in front of you into the list, labels, and SDS access that both right-to-know duties start from.
Label details captured
Reads the product name, signal word, pictograms, and hazard statements from a container label, so each chemical enters the library the way its label and SDS identify it.
An SDS on every entry
Attach the manufacturer's SDS to each library entry so the sheet a worker needs opens on a phone instead of hiding in a binder nobody can find.
Room QR posters
Print a QR poster for a storage room or work area so anyone on shift can open that room's sheets without logging in.
A running chemical list
Every scanned product joins a list you can check against your written program — and the starting point when you add up quantities for EPCRA thresholds.
Demo: the library entry a scanned label comes back with
An illustrative example for this trade — product identity, signal word, GHS pictograms, and hazard statements, filed and searchable.
Diesel fuel No. 2
Example manufacturer
Fuel like this sits on both sides of right to know: workers need its label, SDS, and training, and a facility storing enough of it may also owe its community an EPCRA inventory report.
- H226 — Flammable liquid and vapour
- H304 — May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways
Now scan your own label — free
Photograph any chemical product on your shelf. The AI transcribes the label — no account needed to try it, though you may be asked for the free phone Access Pass.
- The label details from your container — product name, signal word, pictograms, and hazard statements
- A library entry you can attach the manufacturer's SDS to, reachable from any phone or a room QR poster
- Honest notes on which right-to-know duties a scan supports and which stay with you, like training and reporting
One lifetime free label scan
The 12-point chemical right-to-know checklist
Both sides of right to know — what your workers are owed and what your community may be owed — in the order most sites work through them. The first four are free — leave your email to unlock the rest and check both duties against your real chemical list.
Free checklist — 12 points
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Free printable templatePDF · US Letter
Chemical Right-to-Know Program Checklist
Use this form to review your hazard communication program and community right-to-know reporting at least once a year and whenever a new chemical arrives.
On the form
- 12 checklist items with Yes / No / N/A boxes and room for notes
- 4 points to confirm separately with records or a qualified person
- A corrective-action log and sign-off lines
- Federal references checked against the eCFR on October 10, 2026
A free account is required to download it.
Non-English documents are automated translations, not official OSHA translations. Citations, limits and names are kept as written.
OSHA Scan template — not an official government form and not legal advice.
Run right to know for each site in OSHA Scan
Enter the amounts on hand and see which sites may need to report under Tier II, print a right-to-know notice with the site's SDS QR code, and record training. You review every draft and file any report yourself. A free account includes the threshold check, the notice, training records, and one worksheet and one program download.
Start right to know freeWhat the AI can and can't detect
OSHA Scan reads a single photo. That makes it fast and easy for anyone on site — but it also means it has real limits. Here's an honest look at both.
What it can catch from a photo
- Product name, signal word, pictograms, and hazard statements printed on a container label
- Containers in a photo with no label visible
- Whether an SDS access point appears in the storage area
- Visible storage conditions such as open cabinets or crowded shelves
What a photo can't tell it
- Which federal and state right-to-know laws apply to your facility
- Chemical quantities, or whether a reporting threshold is met
- Whether workers have been trained or understand the labels
- Whether reports reached the state commission, planning committee, and fire department
SDS digital library
Build a searchable chemical library from label photos. Review manufacturer SDS matches when available and follow the status of missing documents.
Missing-document requests enter a review queue; they do not automatically contact suppliers.
Job-site locations
Organize inspections by location and compare safety performance across every site you manage.
Team roles & permissions
Invite admins, managers, and supervisors with role-based access that keeps the right people in control.
A qualified person must review AI-flagged items before making safety decisions. Do not replace required comprehensive safety walkthroughs with AI reports. Features, limits, and downloads depend on your account’s plan and permissions.
See the workflow click into place
Illustrative AI-assisted workflows. Review the findings; they are not a compliance certification.
Always confirmed by a person on site
A scan is a fast first look, not the final word. Before treating this kind of area as safe, a competent person should still confirm:
- Every hazardous chemical on site is on the written program's list with a current SDS
- Workers on every shift can reach SDSs in their work area
- Training happened at assignment and after each new chemical hazard
- EPCRA thresholds and your state's rules were checked, and any report was filed by March 1
People also ask
What is the chemical right to know?
It's the principle that people exposed to hazardous chemicals are entitled to information about them. For workers, OSHA's Hazard Communication standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) delivers it through labels, safety data sheets, training, and a written program. For communities, EPCRA requires facilities with hazardous chemicals above set thresholds to share SDSs or chemical lists with emergency planners and the fire department and to file a yearly inventory report. Some states add their own right-to-know laws.
Is OSHA's Hazard Communication standard the same as right to know?
It's the federal version for workers, and many people call it the right-to-know standard. EPCRA is the community version, and EPA runs it, not OSHA. One facility can owe duties under both, plus any state law.
Who has to report under community right to know?
Under EPCRA Sections 311 and 312, facilities that must keep SDSs under OSHA's standard and have a hazardous chemical on site at or above its threshold: generally 10,000 pounds, or 500 pounds or the threshold planning quantity (whichever is lower) for extremely hazardous substances. Those facilities send SDSs or a chemical list to the state emergency response commission, the local emergency planning committee, and the fire department, and file an inventory report by March 1. Retail gas stations have separate thresholds for fuel stored in underground tanks.
Does OSHA Scan file Tier II reports or train workers?
No. OSHA Scan reads container labels into a chemical library, stores the manufacturer's SDS with each entry, and prints room QR posters for phone access. Its Right-to-Know area also compares each site's entered amounts with the federal Tier II thresholds, builds a worksheet you copy into your state's system, prints a worker notice for each site, records the training sessions you run, and starts a draft written program that a person must review and approve. It never trains workers, finalizes your program, or files EPCRA reports.
Do state right-to-know laws add to the federal rules?
They can. EPA lets states add chemicals, set lower thresholds, and ask for more information in EPCRA reports, and some states have their own worker right-to-know laws. New Jersey, for example, requires public employers to post its Right to Know poster and keep a central file of hazardous substance information. Check your state agency's site before relying on the federal rules alone.
Reviewed by OSHA Scan Editorial
This content is produced by the OSHA Scan Editorial team and reviewed with AI assistance. It is general safety information, not legal or compliance advice. OSHA Scan is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor.
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