What is an HMIS rating and what does it mean?
HMIS is the acronym for Hazardous Materials Identification System. This system serves to classify, through a series of ratings, the chemicals you use in your laboratory and color codes the information for easy recognition. This system was developed by the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA) in response to the requirement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) that all chemicals in the workplace be labeled. The system utilizes four color bars and a space at the top where the name of the chemical should be written. There is a white bar for Personal Protective Equipment and the following hazard classification categories: health (blue), flammability (red), and reactivity (yellow); the ratings for a given chemical in any category may be 0 – minimal hazard, 1 – slight hazard, 2 – moderate hazard, 3 – serious hazard, or 4 – severe hazard. Personal Protective Equipment appropriate for the chemical’s hazard is recommended as
