Development of a globally harmonized system for hazard communication

As a result of an international mandate adopted in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED), a globally harmonized system (GHS) for hazard communication has been developed. The work has involved significant contributions from numerous countries and international organizations. The GHS is designed to be a common and coherent approach to defining and classifying hazards of chemicals, and communicating information on labels and substance data sheets. The target audiences for the information include workers, consumers, transport workers, and emergency responders. The GHS can provide an informational infrastructure for countries establishing national, comprehensive programs for the sound management of chemicals. Adoption of the GHS by the United Nations is expected in December 2002, and it will be available for countries to adopt in 2003. The purpose of this discussion is to describe the work to develop the system, the primary components of the GHS, and efforts to promote implementation.