United States Brings Chemical Hazard Communication Guidelines into Line With Globally Harmonized System

The US Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has announced it is to follow the European Union by aligning its Hazard Communication (Haz Comm) Standard with the UN's Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has introduced revisions to align its Hazard Communication (Haz Comm) Standard with the UN's Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), in a bid to provide a coherent approach to classifying and communicating chemical safety data.

Explaining the move, Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health said: "everyone working around hazardous chemicals and other toxic substances has a right to know of possible dangers and how to protect themselves".

In contrast to the European Union which standardised the "classification", "labelling" and "packaging" of chemical substances within member states with the introduction of the CLP Regulation in 2009 (European Regulation [EC] No. 1272/2008 incorporates GHS which is itself modelled on earlier European regulations), the design of chemical labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS) in the United States has never been harmonised and has suffered from differing interpretations of the Haz Comm requirements.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis believes revising OSHA's Hazard Communication standard, "will improve the quality and consistency of hazard information, making it safer for workers to do their jobs".