Course resources
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
Free job aids for anyone who works with or near hazardous products in Canada. Keep this page handy after your WHMIS course, or print it for your work area.
WHMIS pictograms
A red diamond tells you the type of hazard at a glance. Then read the label and the SDS for the details.
Flame
Can catch fire or burn easily.
Covers: Flammable gases, aerosols, liquids and solids; pyrophoric and self heating products; products that give off flammable gas in water; self reactive substances and organic peroxides.
Flame over circle
Feeds a fire. Makes other materials burn harder.
Covers: Oxidizing gases, liquids and solids.
Gas cylinder
Gas under pressure. Can explode if heated or burst if damaged.
Covers: Gases under pressure and chemicals under pressure.
Corrosion
Burns skin, damages eyes, eats through metal.
Covers: Corrosive to metals, skin corrosion, serious eye damage.
Exploding bomb
Can explode.
Covers: Self reactive substances and organic peroxides (Types A and B).
Skull and crossbones
Small amounts can kill or seriously harm you.
Covers: Acute toxicity, Categories 1 to 3, by mouth, skin contact or breathing.
Health hazard
Can cause serious or long term health effects.
Covers: Respiratory sensitizers, germ cell mutagens, cancer, reproductive toxicity, organ damage, aspiration hazard.
Exclamation mark
Less severe health effects.
Covers: Skin and eye irritation, skin sensitizers, acute toxicity Category 4, drowsiness or breathing irritation.
Biohazardous infectious materials
Organisms or toxins that can cause disease.
Covers: Biohazardous Infectious Materials, Category 1.
Used only in WHMIS. It has a round border, not a diamond.
Labels: what must be on them
Supplier label
On the product when it arrives. In English and French.
- Product identifier (the product name)
- Initial supplier identifier (Canadian manufacturer or importer)
- Pictogram(s)
- Signal word: Danger or Warning
- Hazard statement(s)
- Precautionary statement(s)
- Supplemental information, when needed
Workplace label
Made at your workplace when a product is poured into another container, made on site, or the supplier label is lost or can't be read.
- Product identifier that matches the SDS
- Safe handling information
- A note that an SDS is available
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) finder
Every hazardous product at work must have an SDS that you can get to easily during your shift. Ask your supervisor where they are kept.
Where do I look when...
| You need to know about | Look in |
|---|---|
| Someone was exposed or hurt | Section 4, First aid measures |
| What protective equipment to wear | Section 8, Exposure controls and personal protection |
| A spill or leak | Section 6, Accidental release measures |
| A fire | Section 5, Fire fighting measures |
| How to store it and what to keep it away from | Sections 7 and 10 |
| How to get rid of it | Section 13, Disposal considerations |
| How it is shipped (UN number, class) | Section 14, Transport information |
| The supplier and emergency phone number | Section 1, Identification |
The 16 sections, in order
- Identification
- Hazard identification
- Composition and information on ingredients
- First aid measures
- Fire fighting measures
- Accidental release measures
- Handling and storage
- Exposure controls and personal protection
- Physical and chemical properties
- Stability and reactivity
- Toxicological information
- Ecological information
- Disposal considerations
- Transport information
- Regulatory information
- Other information
Sections 12 to 15 must have their headings, but in Canada the supplier may leave them without information. Section 16 shows the date the SDS was last revised.
Before you use a hazardous product
- Read the label. Know the pictograms and the signal word.
- Check SDS section 8 for the protective equipment you need, and put it on.
- Know where the eyewash, shower, spill kit and fire extinguisher are.
- Check SDS section 4 so you know the first aid before you need it.
- Store it the way section 7 says, away from anything section 10 says it reacts with.
- Poured some into another container? Put a workplace label on it.
- Not sure? Stop and ask your supervisor.
Who does what under WHMIS
Your employer
- Makes sure products are labelled
- Keeps SDSs where you can get to them
- Trains you on the products and procedures at your workplace
You
- Take part in training and follow it
- Use the protective equipment provided
- Report missing labels, damaged containers and hazards
WHMIS training rules are enforced by the occupational health and safety regulator in each province and territory, and for federally regulated workplaces by the Canada Labour Code.
Official rules and help
The law is in the official text. These are the sources we used and the places to check for changes.
- Health Canada: Workplace Hazardous Materials Information SystemThe federal WHMIS home page
- Canada's National WHMIS PortalRun by the federal, provincial and territorial WHMIS partners
- Hazardous Products Regulations (SOR/2015-17)Labels, SDS and classification rules for suppliers
- CCOHS: WHMIS pictograms
- CCOHS: WHMIS labels
- CCOHS: Safety Data Sheets
Read more from Gardril
These job aids summarize the rules to help you on the job. They do not replace the official text, your employer's procedures or the training your employer gives you for your site. Content last checked against the official sources on October 22, 2026.