Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals

 

European Parliament has adopted a regulation that creates a new system of classification and labelling of dangerous substances and mixtures, in order to protect consumers and environment but also to reduce costs for enterprises. Regulation will come into force with the publication on the official journal of EU, but some rules relating to chemical substances will be applied since 2010 while those about mixtures will start since 2015.
This regulation adopts for European Union the criteria for classification and labelling and package of dangerous substances and mixtures established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), known as Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
The goal is to classify and label in the same way identical chemicals which have everywhere the same danger, cutting out the present inconsistencies among different states. Today, for example, a certain quantity of a substance can be qualified as “dangerous” for GHS, while in the EU it can be “harmful”; for USA, Canada, Japan and Korea could be “toxical”, “risky” in New Zealand, and “not dangerous” in China.
The regulation will allow to increase consistency, transparency and international comparability of human health and environment protection measures, and will also allow enterprises operating in different states to have a single legislation reference causing also an economical saving.
Labels will have to contain indications of danger, and to highlight the correct use of the substance and precautions to adopt during use; moreover, packages will have to be safe, and not to attract children’s attention. The regulation specifies competences of the producers, importers and suppliers, and those of users; first ones must classify substances and mixtures, while the others must package and label them. Producers and importers must then communicate to European Agency of Chemicals the criteria of this classification and labelling.