The Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates seek to develop common regulations based on the fifth edition of the GHS. The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO), a standardization organization of the member states and Yemen, has published a draft regulation that the member states can react to until...
As of this September, Assembly Bill No. 647 applies in California. The law requires manufacturers and importers of cosmetics to publish online the safety data sheets (SDSs) on hazardous chemicals and/or chemical mixtures in cosmetics along with chemicals used as disinfectants. The information must appear in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese. We...
The European Commission has scheduled a feedback period from September 12 to October 10 on its proposed changes to Annex II of REACH. The changes relate to the requirements for safety data sheets (SDS) and are to apply as of January 1, 2020. What are the specific changes? First, the contents of the Annex...
The EU Commission has reacted to calls from industry associations (see: Poison Centers: ECHA Opens Submission Portal for Hazardous Mixtures), and prepared a new draft regulation. According to the draft, the reporting period for mixtures used by consumers is being moved from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. Furthermore, the draft indicates that…
The New Zealand (Ministry for the Environment (MfE) is seeking to improve its Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) and has already published some suggestions. From August 19 to September 30, stakeholders can make their positions known as part of a public consultation. The goal of the initiative is to replace hazardous chemicals with harmless alternatives more quickly. Although...
