U.S. Guidelines for Hazard Communication to Be Aligned with GHS Guidelines

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to revise its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in 2019 and align it with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of classification and labelling of chemicals of the United Nations.

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) (United States Department of Labor, DOL) decided on the change this Spring as part of its regulatory agenda, moving the project from a status of “long-term action” to that of a “proposed rule.”

OSHA last revised the Standard in 2012, when it aligned with the third revision of the GHS. The seventh revision has been in force in July 2017 and can be downloaded from the UNECE-Website. The compendium will be updated next year.

An important goal of OSHA is to align the Standard with the Canadian and EU approaches to the GHS. Maureen Ruskin, deputy director – directorate of standards and guidance, provided more information in a presentation she gave in March this year.

The UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UNSCEGHS) will hold its 35th meeting from July 4 – July 6 in Geneva. The positions to be taken by and the suggestions to be made by the U.S. representatives at the meeting will be worked out in a public meeting on June 12 at the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.

Do you need support to follow the GHS Guidelines in your country? We are here for you at sds@kft.de.