GHS Implementation in USA

USA

GHS Implementation in USA

Little Pro on 2015-12-30

The United States has implemented GHS in workplace through revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 2012. All hazardous substances and mixtures need to be classified and labelled in accordance with the new HCS from 1 June 2015.

Laws & Regulations	OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard 2012;
Implementation Dates	Substance and mixture: 1 June 2015; Distributors can sell products with old labels until 1 Dec 2015.
Classification & Building Blocks	Based on GHS Rev. 3; Acute Toxicity 5 not adopted; Extra classification criteria for OSHA defined hazards - Hazards Not Otherwise Classified (HNOC): pyrophoric gases, simple asphyxiants, and combustible dust; International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) classifications are mandatory in SDSs;
Labelling	Standard GHS labelling elements; Red border of a pictogram is a mandatory requirement; No simplified labels for small packages;
Safety Data Sheets	Standard 16-section GHS SDSs; Sections 12-15 are not required by OSHA but are recommended to be included; "Hazards Not Otherwise Classified (HNOC)" need to be disclosed in section 2 of SDS, but are not required on a label; American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs), OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs), and any other exposure limits shall be included.

Adoption of GHS in Other Sectors

The Department of Transportation (DOT): Has adopted GHS in transport sector for chemicals with physical hazards and the most severe categories of acute toxicity;
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): Has not adopted GHS in consumer sector yet;
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA): Has not adopted GHS for pesticides yet. Read more about GHS and Pesticides.

Related Regulations and Standards

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