Home / Organization / AIA News / EC Moves to Require Chemical Safety Sheets Meet Globally Harmonized Classification and Labeling Stan

December 22, 2009 - A committee of the European Commission (EC) determined that safety data sheets provided by chemical manufacturers for products sold in the European Union (EU) should be brought into line with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The recommendation came from a regulatory committee, which was set up under the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) to put in place secondary legislation that required that chemical suppliers provide customers with safety data sheets in wider range of circumstances than previously required.

Classification and labeling legislation requires that data sheets and labeling requirements must be aligned with GHS by Dec. 1, 2010. The European Parliament and EU Council have the right to object to the committee's recommendation within three months or it becomes law in the European Union.