disastrous and globally infamous. In 2007 alone, the company had to recall 18
million toys around the world. Because of this mistake, Mattel continues to
face declining market share.
Using Hazardous Materials Responsibly...................................................
Whether you are producing and selling hazardous substances and dangerous
goods or purchasing them for use in your own processes, managing them so
that they don’t sneak into places where they aren’t wanted should be one of
your greatest concerns. Establishing an efficient EH&S management system
entails targeting the ways and means by which your company uses hazardous
substances and dangerous goods in its daily business. This, in turn, requires
instituting documented ways to handle and store them safely, and to track
them systematically.
Specifically, you will need to
Register your materials
Store materials safely
Classify and identify the hazardous substance
Create an inventory that details all hazardous substances and dangerous
goods in your possession
Monitoring hazardous substance concentrations in the workplace
Determine and assess risks to employees, vendors, contractors, and
visitors
Arrange, undertake, and monitor the success of protection measures
Create standard operating procedures for work areas and substances
Conduct employee health and safety briefings about hazardous sub-
stance handling
Implement standard protocol to handle and report accidents
Report safety records
Package and identify hazardous substances and dangerous goods in
accordance with regulations
Create and manage labels, transportation emergency cards (tremcards),
and current, accurate material safety data sheets (MSDSs)
Ship material safety data sheets before delivery or when the hazardous
substance is delivered, as well as after they have been changed
These tasks fall into four main categories: customer compliance management,
supplier compliance management, compliance reporting, and comprehensive
Chapter 12: Making Your Products Environmentally Friendly 225
