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Developed by the United Nations, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) is designed to standardize the process of defining and classifying the hazards of chemical products while providing a universal system for communicating health and safety information via GHS labels and safety data sheets (SDSs).
Criteria of the GHS are outlined in the UN GHS Purple Book, which is updated every two years. The 6th Revised edition of the UN GHS Purple Book was published in 2015.
Being that the GHS serves more as a voluntary guideline than a law, countries that wish to adopt the system are responsible for establishing their own regulations while implementing the GHS criteria.
Two examples of GHS supported regulations include OSHA’s Hazard Communications Standard (HCS) 2012 in the United States, and the European Union’s CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the Classification, Labelling, and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures.
Prior to the UN GHS, countries were responsible for developing and maintaining their own system for communicating health and safety risks associated with hazardous materials. While the majority of these systems were adequate for the individual country, confusion over the different label warnings grew between nations which negatively impacted worker safety, environmental health, and business performance.
In light of these consequences, the benefits of the GHS are expected to:
Industry Sector: | GHS Element to be Adopted |
Transport |
Transport Industry Sector expected to adopt: - GHS hazard classification criteria
|
Workplace |
Workplace Industry Sector expected to adopt: - GHS hazard classification criteria- GHS label elements - GHS safety data sheet |
Consumer |
Consumer Industry Sector expected to adopt: - GHS hazard classification criteria- GHS label elements |
In GHS, the nature and severity of a chemical is identified by the Hazard Class and Hazard Category. This information is paired with corresponding a pictogram(s) that provides a visual cue for the different types of hazards. Below is a brief explanation of each element:
According to the most recent UN GHS Purple Book, there are 29 hazard classes which are outlined below:
As a set of recommendations, it should be noted that the UN GHS employs a building blocks strategy with the hopes that more countries will opt-in and help build a fully harmonized system over time. Through this approach, participating countries may choose different parts of GHS that they wish to incorporate into their regulations.
While somewhat flexible, the system does require that countries commit to consistently using the building blocks they choose.
Both Hazard Classes and Hazard Categories are considered building block elements which means that individual countries or regions, like the European Union, are free to determine which classes or categories they’d like to implement.
GHS Pictograms are visual cues that communicate a chemical’s hazards. The pictograms used for GHS packaging labels are designed using two distinctive elements; a red diamond and a black image. The space between these two elements should be white.
When chemicals are shipped in boxes or other larger containers, these 9 pictograms should be placed on the inner packaging inside the boxes.
The GHS classification process is used to determine the hazard class and hazard category of a chemical substance or mixture which were both explained earlier in this post.
Under GHS, all chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors are required to update the hazards associated with their products using the GHS Classification process.
To demonstrate this process, we’ve put together the following example using the GHS classification criteria for flammable liquids. Under GHS guidelines, a liquid with a flashpoint between 23 and 60 Celsius will be classified as a flammable liquid category 3. However, a liquid with a flash point above 93 Celsius degrees will not be regarded as a hazardous chemical because it fails to meet the GHS classification criteria.
Category: |
Criteria: |
1 | Flash point < 23 °C and initial boiling point ≤ 35°C |
2 | Flash point < 23 °C and initial boiling point > 35°C |
3 | Flash point ≥ 23 °C and ≤ 60 °C |
4 | Flash point > 60 °C and ≤ 93 °C |
As a guide, you can download the UN GHS Classification criteria below:
After using the GHS classification criteria to classify your chemical, manufacturers, importers, and distributors will be able to assign a signal word, pictogram(s), hazard statements and precautionary statements that are required for GHS labels and safety data sheets (SDSs).
Download Signal Words, Pictograms & GHS Pharases
For example, a liquid with a flash point between 60 and 93 Celsius degrees will be classified as flammable liquid category 4. As you'll see by checking the Flammable Liquids - Chapter 2.6 (Page 50 from the download link above), the core labeling elements for this liquid are:
Signal Word: Warning
Pictogram: No Symbol
Hazard Statement: H227 Combustible Liquid
Precautionary Statement: P210, P280, P370 + P378, P403, P501
The six required elements of a GHS label include:
An example of a GHS label for a chemical can be found below:
Once referred to as a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), today’s GHS Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are designed to communicate key information about a chemical mixture or substance through a standardized 16 section format.
These sections, which are listed below, include information on safe handling, storage and first aid procedures an individual should take in the event of accidental exposure:
Enviance’s GHS Solutions module, SDS Vault, is an industry leading, web-based safety data sheet (SDS) management system that enables companies to meet their international, federal, state and local regulatory compliance requirements while keeping workers safe.
Leveraging Enviance’s proprietary IntelligentTEXTTM technology, SDS Vault’s robust relational database makes it possible for users to unlock all of the information embedded in a GHS SDS document.
With infinite search capabilities, SDS Vault users are able to conduct sophisticated analysis across all levels of the enterprise, produce secondary container labels and compile summary sheets quickly and easily.