OSHA Compliance with Global Harmonization System (GHS)

One of the first blog posts that we wrote back in September of 2010 dealt with the impending move by OSHA to change the existing Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) developed by the United Nations.  Well, that movement has become a reality and there is now a compliance timeline in place for employers to follow. A lot has been and will be written about the new standard.  We will not attempt to provide a complete explanation of all in this blog post.  Rather, we will use our blog as a way to provide updates on the regulation and our progress towards complying with it.

Useful Links

We will provide additional posts regarding GHS as we approach the compliance dates.  The following link will allow you to view all of our GHS related posts.

If you prefer the “straight from the horse’s mouth” method of information gathering, then follow this link to OSHA’s Hazard Communication page.

If you would like a higher level view before digging in deeper, here are a couple of links you may find helpful:

·         GHS Summary Power Point Presentation

·         OSHA Fact Sheet

·         New Safety Data Sheet (formerly MSDS) format.

·         New Labeling Format

·         New Pictograms

Compliance Timeline

Effective Completion Date	Requirement(s)	Who
December 1, 2013	Train employees on the new label elements and SDS format.	Employers
June 1, 2015 December 1, 2015	Comply with all modified provisions of this final rule, except: Distributors may ship products labeled by manufacturers under the old system until December 1, 2015.	Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers
June 1, 2016	Update alternative workplace labeling and hazard communication program as necessary, and provide additional employee training for newly identified physical or health hazards.	Employers
Transition Period	Comply with either 29 CFR 1910.1200 (this final standard), or the current standard, or both.	All chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers

WATERTECH’s GHS Compliance Statement

We have started the process of complying with the new HCS and will meet the deadlines required.  Updates regarding our progress will be posted on our website.  Any questions regarding any of this information can be sent to ghs@watertechusa.com.