In May 2012, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) aligned its existing Hazard Communication Standard with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS).
The result is the new Hazard Communication Standard 2012 (HazCom 2012) for the United States. Under the new standard, OSHA will now require one standardized format for all safety data sheets (SDSs) and prescribed wording and hazard symbols on the product labels.
A.W. Chesterton has issued a press release on its website stating that it is fully committed to complying with the requirements of HazCom 2012 (GHS) and will ensure compliance by the June 1st, 2015 deadline. Distributors of Chesterton products have until December 1st, 2015 to comply with GHS.
Chesterton will begin to phase in GHS compliant labels over the next couple months; and as a result of this clients may see both old and new formatted labels. GHS compliant SDSs are already available on our website for most products. Canada is expected to align its existing hazard communication standard with the US, but final implementation dates have not yet been published.