Hazard Communication Standard and the GHS

The GHS provides the criteria for classifying health, physical, and environmental hazards. It also states the information that hazardous chemicals labels and Safety Data Sheets should include. You may recall that the United Nations (UN) adopted the GHS in 2003. The United States participated in developing the GHS and is one of the UN members that pledged to implement this new system.

OSHA altered its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the GHS. Some of the changes included the following:

• New hazard classifications (new, more specific criteria for classifying chemical mixtures and health and physical hazards)
• New labels (manufacturers and importers must provide labels with precautionary statements, a signal word, pictogram, and hazard statement)
• New Safety Data Sheets (now in a 16-section format).

In addition, OSHA updated its HCS to require worker training.

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