Almost every worker in Canada who may be exposed to a hazardous product needs WHMIS training. These two free practice quizzes go over the essentials, one on labels, safety data sheets and duties, one on the pictograms, with a short explanation and the source behind every answer.
What WHMIS 2015 covers
WHMIS, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, is Canada's system for passing hazard information from the supplier to the worker. It is aligned with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). The supplier rules are federal, in the Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products Regulations, administered by Health Canada; the workplace rules, including training, are set by each province and territory and by federal labour law for federally regulated workplaces.
The system has four parts: hazard classification, labels, safety data sheets (SDS) and worker education and training. A supplier label shows the product identifier, the supplier, the pictograms, a signal word («Danger» or «Warning»), hazard statements and precautionary statements, in English and French. The SDS has 16 sections in a fixed order, and the supplier must update it within 90 days of significant new data. When a product is decanted, made on site or loses its label, the employer puts on a workplace label.
What the quizzes check
The first quiz follows the questions trainers ask most: where to find first aid (section 4) or PPE (section 8) on an SDS, what a supplier label must show, when a spray bottle needs its own label, and how often training is reviewed. The workplace examples follow Ontario, where Regulation 860 sets out the WHMIS instruction and the Occupational Health and Safety Act asks the employer to review training at least once a year.
The second quiz is about the symbols: flame, flame over circle, gas cylinder, corrosion, exploding bomb, skull and crossbones, health hazard, exclamation mark and biohazardous infectious materials, plus the hazard classes that have no pictogram but still carry a signal word.
Practice questions, not test answers
WHMIS training is given by your employer or a training provider, and each of them sets its own test. Nobody can publish «the» answers to it, and you should be wary of pages that promise them. These quizzes were written by Quizhat from the regulations and CCOHS guidance; they are not the questions of any course, and Quizhat is not affiliated with Health Canada, CCOHS or any provincial ministry. Use them to check your understanding before or after the course, and ask your trainer about the products you actually use at work.