The GHS unifies information on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals on a global level through the harmonisation of classification criteria, labelling requirements, and a guide for the preparation of Safety Data Sheets.
The GHS is implemented and maintained by the United Nations in order to prevent varying information on the hazards of Chemicals around the world. It is revised every two years.
Another objective is to streamline the trade of Chemicals: by applying the GHS in different countries, it will not be necessary for a chemical exporting company to reclassify its products and re-label in order to comply with the importing country's requirements.
However, these objectives have not been achieved on a practical level, as the documentation needs to be adapted to each country's legislation.
It covers:
It does not cover:
The Globally Harmonized System (GHS) includes criteria for hazard classification and communication.
There are three types of hazards for classification purposes, with their respective hazard classes and categories:
No, the Globally Harmonized System is a “non-binding recommendation" from the United Nations, so it has no type of legal validity by itself.
The provisions of the GHS are binding in countries or regions that adopt the system as a requirement. It may be adopted in whole or in part, as may any of its revised editions.
The main problem is that hazard categories are excluded in some countries but included in others, while each country has a different adaptation of the GHS.
As a consequence of the country-specific adaptations being based on different versions of the GHS:
Below is a non-exhaustive list of the legal provisions incorporated by hazard classification and communication tools (Safety Data Sheets and labelling) in different countries: