More than choosing a colour
NR-26 requires colours to communicate safety and identify equipment, areas, piping and risks according to official technical standards. It states that colours do not replace other preventive measures and warns that excessive colour use can cause distraction or confusion. Safety and health signs belong within the protective system: painting an area does not eliminate a leak, vehicle collision or chemical exposure that requires effective controls suited to the actual work.
Product classification and labelling
Workplace chemicals are classified under Globally Harmonized System criteria, GHS, and applicable technical standards. For hazardous products, labels include identification, pictograms, a signal word and hazard and precautionary statements, among other elements. Products not classified as hazardous still require the specified simplified labelling. Absence of a pictogram does not establish that every possible use is risk-free, particularly where processing changes the form of exposure or introduces additional hazards.
Accessible and understood safety data
The manufacturer, or domestic supplier for imported products, must prepare and make safety data sheets available in the circumstances specified. This also extends to products not classified as hazardous whose intended or recommended uses create risks. The organisation must ensure workers can access sheets for products they use and provide training to understand labels, hazards, prevention and emergency arrangements. A document held by purchasing but unavailable to workers does not fulfil that practical purpose.
Example: changing supplier
A workshop buys a degreaser with a commercial name similar to its previous product. Before substitution, it reviews identification, classification, intended uses and the measures described in the documentation. Updating only the brand name in an inventory may leave instructions incompatible with the new formulation. The responsible person checks that the label and sheet concern the same product and that workers receive the information needed before using it in the planned process.
Exceptions and limits
NR-26 includes a specific labelling exception for certain sanitary products notified or registered with Anvisa and subject to its rules. This is not a general exemption from chemical prevention. Nor does a foreign safety data sheet automatically establish Brazilian compliance. Review should examine applicable technical requirements, accessible workplace information and consistency with assessment of the actual risk, rather than treating the possession of any sheet as sufficient evidence.
