Isn't It Odd?
That EPA would not give all the
ingredients of Inipol EAP 22 when asked May, 2002?
Some people still think there are proprietary
rights to ingredients.
Not so with the law passed re:
pesticide ingredients... also for other chemicals?
Note that current MSDS you can get
from the Manufacturer states all ingredients of inipol EAP 22 including the CAS
Nrs *
Until now,
pesticide manufacturers have been able to keep certain ingredients in their
products secret from the public under the protection of "trade secret
laws." However, a historic ruling of the District of Columbia Federal
District Court has found that the Environmental Protection Agency must reveal
the identity of secret "inert" pesticide ingredients used in
agriculture or in the home and workplace.
Though manufacturers refer to these ingredients as "inert," they're
anything but. "Despite their name, they're neither biologically,
chemically nor toxicologically inert," says the Northwest Coalition for
Alternative Pesticides (NCAP). In fact, these secret ingredients may comprise
as much as 99 percent of a pesticide.
The court ruled that no competitive harm would result from the release of
chemical ingredient identities.
On the Other Hand...
What Dates do these Apply?
Can
the identity of a chemical be withheld on an MSDS as a trade secret?
Yes. Paragraph
(i) of the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, permits a
manufacturer, importer or even employer to withhold the specific chemical
identity of a material provided that all of the following apply:
- The claim of a "trade secret" can be supported (key point;
more below)
- The MSDS states that the specific chemical identity is being withheld as
a trade secret.
- The properties and effects of the hazardous
chemical,
including the PEL, TLV,
or other designated exposure limit, is disclosed in the MSDS.
- The specific chemical identity is made immediately available to a
treating physician or nurse in an emergency situation or to the physician,
nurse, employee or designated representative under certain non-emergency
situations; see Paragraph
i(3) for detailed information.
The designation of an incident as a "medical emergency" is left to
the discretion of the treating physician or nurse. Failure to disclose the
identity in this situation wil result in the issuance of a willful citation.
For non-emergencies, where OSHA
believes that the chemical
manufacturer,
importer or employer will not be able to support the trade secret claim, the
withholding of a specific chemical identity shall be cited as a violation.
OSHA has a very specific and rigorous definition/discussion of "trade
secret" which makes up Appendix
D of 29 CFR 1910.1200. An important quote from this section is Matters
of public knowledge or of general knowledge in an industry cannot be
appropriated by one as his secret. Matters which are completely disclosed by
the goods which one markets cannot be his secret. So if you have a
product which is easily reverse engineered or is a generic equivalent of other
products, it would be quite difficult to support such a claim. You can not
claim a "trade secret" merely for your own convenience.
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