EPA Guidance On Aligning Pesticide Labels With GHS Requirements

The US EPA Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has released a Pesticide Registration Notice (PR Notice) in the April 20 Federal Register entitled “Pesticide Registration Notice 2012-1: Material Safety Data Sheets as Pesticide Labeling.” OPP puts out PR Notices to inform pesticide registrants and others about important policies, procedures, and registration-related decisions, as well as guidance to registrants and OPP personnel.

The Notice provides guidance to pesticide registrants concerning the relationship between EPA-approved labels for pesticides registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS, also known as the Safety Data Sheet or SDS), required by OSHA. It explains how registrants can ensure their FIFRA labeling and SDSs comply with both EPA and OSHA requirements. The New PR Notice is intended to update previous PR Notice 92-4, in which EPA determined that a MSDS that accompanies a pesticide product is considered part of the pesticide’s labeling, but may accompany a pesticide product without notification or approval from the Agency, provided the labeling is consistent with the requirements of 40 CFR Part 156.

OSHA requires SDSs under its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) at 29 CFR 1910.1200, and is moving to align HCS requirements with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). OSHA published its final rule for HCS on March 26, 2012, and will begin to accept SDSs that are prepared according to the final rule’s requirements on May 25, 2012.

EPA has not yet moved to amend its labeling regulations to be consistent with the GHS, which leads to differences between EPA’s current requirements and OSHA’s new requirements related to classification criteria, hazard statements, pictograms, and signal words. EPA and OSHA worked together to develop PR Notice 2012-1 to address concerns about those differences. EPA says the PR-Notice is intended to aid registrants in assuring that SDSs for their products are not considered inconsistent with the EPA-approved product labeling for pesticides registered under FIFRA by providing guidance on how a registrant may reconcile an SDS with its associated FIFRA labeling.

EPA is also asking for public comment on the information collection activities and related burden estimates associated with the guidance provided in PR Notice 2012-1. Comments must be received on or before June 19, 2012.


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OSHA Announces Final HazCom 2012 Rule and Compliance Dates

On a teleconference call, OSHA announced the revision to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) as well as related compliance deadlines affecting chemical manufacturers, distributors and employers. According to OSHA the Final Rule will be filed on March 20th at the Office of the Federal Register and available for viewing on their Public Electronic Inspection Desk. The Federal Register will publish the final rule on March 26, 2012. The effective date of the final rule is 60 days after the date of publication.”

The revised HCS, which OSHA is calling HazCom 2012, is expected to affect every U.S. workplace with exposure to hazardous chemicals, and is estimated to cover over 5 million facilities and over 40 million workers. The first compliance date employers should be aware of is December 1, 2013, which is the date by which employees must be trained on the new label and SDS formats. OSHA is now calling this standard the “Right to Understand” updating the “Right to Know” concept behind the former HCS.

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OMB Extends Review of OSHA Globally Harmonized System Rule

The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) has extended its review of the final rule on hazard communication requirements in the workplace, which had been expected to be completed in January 2012. In 2011, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration submitted its final rule which would revise labeling and material safety data sheet requirements to align with the "globally harmonized system" (or GHS) used in many other countries. This final rule must be reviewed and approved by OMB prior to being published in the Federal Register.

For more information on the GHS rule, go to:

Summary of Globally Harmonized System for hazard communication and labeling

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OSHA Submits Final GHS Rule To OMB

On October 25, OSHA took the last step to officially adopt the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling (GHS) into the U.S.'s Hazard Communication Standard. On that day, OSHA submitted the final rule to The Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB then has up to 90 days to review and finalize the rule before it is published in the Federal Register, and becomes final.

Based on this schedule, the final rule is expected to be published in January 2012.

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Publication of Final Hazard Communication Rule Delayed

The U.S. Department of Labor - Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that its final Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) rule, originally scheduled for released in August 2011, has been delayed for a few weeks due to the extensive review of the final standard. The final standard is not expected to be published in September 2011. The final Hazard Communication rule is entering final Departmental review and will be sent to OMB once this review is complete

OSHA had proposed a three-year implementation period to phase in compliance with the revised hazard communication rule. During the rulemaking comment periods and at the public hearings, stakeholders submitted recommended implementation periods ranging from 3 to 15 years. OSHA has indicated that it has considered all of these comments and the implementation period will be announced when the final rule is published. However, a company may opt to classify the products now according to GHS as long as it also follows the current Hazard Communication Standard. OSHA did not propose any changes in the language requirements in the Hazard Communication Standard. However, GHS is designed to enable workers of limited literacy in the English language to understand the information.

OSHA’s preliminary estimate is that updating the Hazard Communication Standard will create a substantial annualized savings for employers of at least $585 million. The majority of these benefits will be realized through increases in productivity for health and safety managers as well as for logistics personnel.

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OSHA GHS Hazard Communication Final Rule Expected In August 2011

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released their timetable on the adoption of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) into the federal hazard communication standards. After a long rulemaking process, which began with an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in September 2006, a Final Rule is expected to be completed in August 2011.

The current OSHA hazard communication standard used in the United States is not consistent internationally and can cause complications when dealing with international trade. Adoption of the GHS into federal requirements will allow US manufacturers, employers and employees to use a hazard communication system that is more recognizable worldwide. Several countries, including the European Union, have already adopted the GHS, with varying implementation schedules.

[Read a Regulatory Briefing on the proposed GHS standard]

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OSHA Amends Hazard Communication Standard Proposed Rule

The Hazard Communication Standard proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2009, contained eight errors according OSHA — four in the preamble and four that appear in Appendix A: Table A.1.1, Table A.1.2, Table A.2.3, and Table A7.1.

The corrections made are:

• The “For further information contact” information has been corrected to read as follows:
  For general information and press inquiries, contact Jennifer Ashley, Office of Communications, Room N–3647, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693–1999.
  For technical information, contact Maureen Ruskin, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N–3718, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693–1950.
• The net benefits OSHA expects that societal welfare will increase as a result of these standards has been changed from, over $500 million annually to over $700 million annually.
• The potential small entities affected by the proposal, based on the definitions of small entities developed by SBA for each industry, has been changed from 4,215,404 to 3,877,457.
• The estimated benefits from the proposed rule has been corrected to accurately reflect the $133 million decline annually. Originally, OSHA said that estimated benefits of the proposed rule would decline from $754 million to $610 million annually. The corrected numbers are $754 million to $621 million annually.

In Hazard Communication Standard Appendix A Table A.1.1: Acute toxicity hazard categories and acute toxicity estimate (ATE) values defining the respective categories have also been amended:

• In Appendix A, Table A.1.2: Conversion from experimentally obtained acute toxicity range values (or acute toxicity hazard categories) to acute toxicity point estimates for use in the formulas for the classification of mixtures has been corrected.
• In Appendix A, Table A.2.3: Concentration of ingredients of a mixture classified as skin Category 1 or 2 that would trigger classification of the mixture as hazardous to skin (Category 1 or 2) has been corrected.
• In Appendix A, Table A.7.1: Cut-off values/concentration limits of ingredients of a mixture classified as reproductive toxicants or for effects on or via lactation that trigger classification of the mixture has been corrected.
  

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OSHA - Proposed Globally Harmonized System GHS for MSDS

OSHA has proposed to modify its existing Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform with the United Nations’ (UN) Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The Agency anticipates this improved information will enhance the effectiveness of the HCS in ensuring that employees are apprised of the chemical hazards to which they may be exposed, and in reducing the incidence of chemical-related occupational illnesses and injuries.

The proposed modifications to the standard include:

• revised criteria for classification of chemical hazards;
• revised labeling provisions that include requirements for use of standardized signal words, pictograms, hazard statements, and precautionary statements;
• a specified format for safety data sheets; and related revisions to definitions of terms used in the standard, requirements for employee training on labels and safety data sheets.

OSHA is also proposing to modify provisions of a number of other standards, including standards for flammable and combustible liquids, process safety management, and most substance-specific health standards, to ensure consistency with the modified HCS requirements.

Written comments by December 29, 2009.

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Globally Harmonized Standard (GHS) - Relationship to Other Regulatory Programs

Implementation of the Globally Harmonized Standard (GHS) in the US will indirectly affect other regulatory compliance programs. The communication of hazards is required by OSHA, however certain aspects are also regulated by other agencies. The USEPA regulates labeling and hazard communication for pesticides; the US DOT regulates the labeling and placarding of hazardous materials while in transport. These agencies will also be responding to the GHS.

Although required by OSHA, the information contained in an MSDS will be used by other regulatory programs. For example, many facilities that have an air emission permit and must prepare an annual air emission inventory (AEI) will utilize the information contained in their raw material MSDSs to determine their facility emissions. Facilities may also use the MSDS data to determine if wastes contain chemicals that are used to identify “hazardous wastes”. Previously, information on other regulations that may apply to a chemical has not been required to be included in an MSDS. This is primarily due to the fact that OSHA, the agency requiring the MSDS, did not have authority in these other areas. In many cases, companies preparing MSDSs have included information on other regulatory programs. For example, an MSDS will often list the Reportable Quantity (RQ) under CERCLA in the event of spills. Under the GHS, information on other regulations that apply to the substance is required on the MSDS. One of the challenges chemical manufacturers and distributors will have is to determine what regulations apply – especially considering that this is an “international” system, and therefore would not be limited to the regulations of one country, such as the US.

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Changes To Hazard Communication Requirements Under Globally Harmonized Standard (GHS)

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) adopted a mandate that a standardized system be developed to classify, label and communicate the hazard of materials. Several countries, including the US and Canada, had developed their own systems; however, inconsistencies between the individual requirements of these countries made international trade more challenging. While similar, the regulations of each country are different enough to require multiple labels and safety data sheets for the same product in international trade. A multinational work group, including representatives from U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), began developing the standard, now termed the Globally Harmonized System (GHS).

The GHS was adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2003 and there is an international goal for as many countries as possible to implement the GHS by 2008. OSHA intends to revise the Hazard Communication Standard to align with the GHS and published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2006. The current Hazard Communication Standard affects many, if not most, industrial and commercial employers in the US. Most will have developed Hazard Communication programs to meet the current OSHA requirements. Changes to the requirements will impact most of these companies.

The revision to the Hazard Communication Standard will also directly affect manufacturers and distributors of chemicals. These companies may need to review and revise existing Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to meet new requirements.

This article highlights some of the key changes reflected in the GHS compared to the current OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.

Labeling requirements. The GHS will expand the information required for labeling. Under the current OSHA requirements, labels need to identify: 1) chemical or common name, and 2) nature of hazard.

Hazard Classification. One of the most significant changes compared to the current OSHA requirement is the classification of hazards. Although the current standard does include a system of hazard classification, the GHS revises this classification system and the criteria used to assign hazards to chemicals. The GHS also incorporates a standard list of potential health effects to be considered.

Training. The training requirements under the GHS are less prescriptive compared the current OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.

Material Safety Data Sheets. The basic information required in an MSDS will be similar to what is currently familiar to most employees and employers. However, several sections will become mandatory; these include Ecological Information, Transportation Information, Disposal Information & Regulatory Information. Although these sections are often voluntarily included in MSDS, the GHS will require they be included in all MSDSs.

Transportation Placarding. The GHS provides for standard pictograms to be used to mark dangerous goods in transport.


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