Part $4$: What is a PCB$?$

In every workplace and home there are chemicals. In an office, it is common to have toners for the copier or cleaners for equipment. In a hair salon, there are hair dyes and chemical straighteners. Auto shops have coolants, oils, degreasers and gasoline. In your home, there may be cleaning fluids, pesticides, or herbicides. Each of these chemicals has potential adverse health effects. Some of them are immediately $($acutely$)$ apparent, like a chemical burn or shortness of breath, or it might take years for these effects to appear, as is the case with cancer.

In order to protect workers' safety, the federal government passed a law in $1983$ that created the Occupational Health and Safety Administration $($OHSA$).$ As part of this law, a Material Safety Data Sheet $($MSDS$)$ is "required for all shipments of hazardous chemicals leaving the manufacturer's workplace and from all importers of such on all shipments," as well as all "distributors and employers."