The Ultimate GHS Hazard Classification Guide - ERA Software Solutions
The Ultimate GHS Hazard Classification Guide - ERA Software Solutions
The Ultimate GHS Hazard Classification Guide - ERA Software Solutions
The goal of this guide is to give you the guidelines and best practices your
organization needs to properly classify the chemical hazards associated with your
products so that you can author accurate Safety Data Sheets (SDS) in accordance with
the Globally Harmonized System (GHS).
OSHA committed to adopting the United Nation’s GHS Standards for chemical hazard
communication for 2015. Today, North American chemical manufacturers, importers,
and distributors are required to be authoring compliant GHS SDSs. The GHS is
outlined in a free regulatory document known as “The Purple Book” which you should
use in tandem with this guide.
Resource Guide
This guide gives you a simplified walk through of GHS hazard classification and
references other regulatory documents. In addition to this guide you should
familiarize yourself with these resources (click to read):
The goal of SDS Authoring is to provide your staff, clients, and any other product users
with important information about the hazards associated with your products.
That’s why it’s paramount that you have a clear and repeatable methodology for
classifying your chemical hazards. The GHS and OSHA outline this methodology, but it
is not always so simple to implement.
It’s your job to figure out what classes and categories are applicable to your
products.
Currently, the OSHA and WHMIS implementation of the GHS only has jurisdiction over
the classification of physical hazards and health hazards. For environmental
hazards, we recommend that you use the default GHS classifications.
The goal of classifying your product hazards is to determine which Hazard Statements
need to be displayed in Section 2 of your SDS. We’ll go into more explanation about
Hazard Statements in the next chapter of this guide… but first you need to follow
the GHS step-by-step classification process on the next page.
Compliance Alert
You are not required to test chemicals for the purpose of hazard classification.
A key benefit of adopting the GHS is to reduce the burden of testing and evaluating
chemical information. Instead, consult scientific literature to assess whether your
material meets the OSHA and WHMIS definition of a hazardous chemical. For
example, the EPA’s chemical databases or the ECHA’s C&L library can be used in
place of in-house lab testing.
Health hazards present dangers to human health (i.e. breathing or vision) while
physical hazards cause damage to the body (like skin corrosion). There are 16
physical hazards and 10 health hazards: each hazard is then further divided according
to different severity levels. Environmental hazards refer to acute and chronic aquatic
toxicity; however, environmental hazards do not fall under OSHA/WHMIS jurisdiction
under the current implementation. Accordingly, all environmental hazard
classifications should be done following the UN’s GHS guidelines.
Hazard classes are determined by the regulatory body overseeing workplace safety for
your country. In the United States this body is OSHA. OSHA has aligned its SDS
regulations with the GHS through a standard known as Hazard Communication 2012 –
known as HazCom 2012 for short. In Canada, the GHS has been implemented
nationally through a regulation known as WHMIS – Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System.
Compliance Alert
HazCom 2012 categories use a 1-4 rating system for hazard severity
similar to HMIS/NFPA rating but with a critical difference. GHS ranks 4 as the
least severe whereas NFPA ranks 4 as the most severe. To avoid confusion,
NFPA and OSHA have worked to produce an online “quick card” reference
document [external link]. We recommend you print or save this document for
your future reference.
We’ve prepared simple reference tables for you to quickly narrow down which
categories need your attention for your materials based on classes you identified in
step 1. A single class can contain several categories. Once you know your class and
category per material, you can move on to assigning hazard statements,
precautionary statements, pictograms, and signal words (more on those in the next
chapter).
On the next two pages you will find the GHS class/category tables.
Environmental Hazards
Hazard Class Associated Hazard Category
Acute Aquatic Toxicity Categories 1 -3
This document also includes decision flow charts and numerical limits/thresholds that
will be essential if you are required to author GHS-compliant SDSs and/or labels. It is
too in-depth to summarize nicely in this guide but is still important reading.
Don’t skip this step – make sure you reference the UNECE table in addition to this
guide.
The GHS classifies mixtures using a tiered approach. To classify your mixtures,
you should use available testing data (or available literature testing data) for the
mixture itself alongside the GHS classification guidelines.
For untested mixtures the GHS suggests applying bridging principles with similar
tested mixtures or using the cut-off approach with the values described in the
specific end point. Bridging principles exist for Dilutions, Batching, Concentration of
Highly Toxic Mixtures, Interpolation within One Toxic Category, Substantially Similar
Mixtures and Aerosols.
More information about the GHS bridging principles and Mixture classification can be
found online here [External link].
The purpose of a Safety Data Sheet is to clearly communicate the hazards of your
products. Now that you’ve classified your hazards, it is time to share that data with
your users via a properly authored SDS.
This chapter explains how to communicate your chemical hazards using the correct
methods outlined by OSHA and the GHS:
Each Hazard Statement has a specific hazard code, although your SDSs and Labels
must include the entire statement and not simply the code number. This ensures
that anyone reading the document knows exactly what to expect without decoding.
1. Each code begins with the Letter “H” for Hazard Statement
2. The first number designates the type of hazard:
2 = physical hazard
3 = health hazard
4 = environmental hazard
3. The second and third numbers refer to the intrinsic properties of the substance
4. Some hazard codes and statements can be combined/ conjoined using a “+”
which means “or” or "and"
For example, the hazard code H200 refers to an unstable explosive. It’s clear from the
first letter of the code, 2, that the explosive property of the material is a physical
hazard.
Pyrophoric Gases
• Signal word: Danger
• Pictogram: GHS Flame Pictogram
• Hazard statement: Catches fire spontaneously if exposed to air
Simple Asphyxiants
• Signal word - Warning
• Hazard statement - May displace oxygen and cause rapid suffocation
Combustible Dusts
• Signal word - Warning
• Hazard statement - May form combustible dust concentrations in the air
This chapter focuses on methodologies to ensure your SDS authoring is efficient and
reliable:
The best method to ensure accuracy and reliability in any GHS-compliant material you
produce is to take a two-tiered approach: first have the most accurate raw chemical
data about your materials and, second, reference and compare multiple
regulatory resources before making any final determinations.
The GHS doesn’t require chemical manufacturers or distributors to test each and
every chemical and material that they ship or sell. Instead, you are allowed to use
industry publications that review lab testing data performed by others. But if you use
published testing data it is especially important to ensure the publication is credible.
The best sources are those sanctioned by or curated by an official government or
regulatory body. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collects
reliable data on chemical toxicity and environmental impacts.
Most importantly, always refer to the United Nations’ Purple Book, which is the official
guideline to GHS implementation. You can order a physical copy for your business
online, or read it for free online here:
http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/ghs/ghs_rev03/03files_e.html
ERA recommends that specialists authoring SDSs by hand consult around three to
five trustworthy sources and using those same sources each time (or as often as
possible).
When ERA authors SDSs using our GHS software, we reference at least 13 different
databases of chemical determinations, chemical testing data, and regulatory body
finds per chemical. We’re able to reference this many through our built-in Master
Chemical List. ERA also breaks each material down into its exact chemical
components so that SDSs have all the information they need.
Stopping at just one source of chemical information for any material when authoring
your SDSs and labels is bad practice, even if it’s from a source you generally trust, like
the Environmental Protection Agency.
Here’s a short case study to illustrate why using multiple chemical references is
important in any situation.
When using GHS standards to classify sulfur according to OSHA’s implementation you
can get different results than under other international regulatory bodies. Which
should you use? Which governing body is correct? Which offers the best protection
against harmful effects?
Additional but less affirmative evidence also suggests that sulfur can be classified as
an Eye Irritant Category 2 and a Flammable Solid Category 2.
The Sigma- Aldrich SDS for Sulfur indicates that under OSHA and WHMIS, sulfur is
classified as a flammable solid Category 2. However, under the CLP, this
categorization is not specified. GHS classification criteria can be used to reclassify
chemicals on lists, if desired. Existing lists could be used in conjunction with the GHS
to promote harmonization, according to OSHA and WHMIS.
Even though the GHS Classification specifies that Category 2 skin irritants are not
necessarily eye irritants, this is subject to debate. Table 3.2.5 from the GHS Purple
Book shows that only category 1A, 1B and 1C are linked to eye damage because they
are corrosive. Though not specified in the GHS guidelines, it is certainly possible that a
chemical that causes a simple skin irritation can also cause an eye irritation.
The Solution:
By researching multiple chemical and toxicological databases, including Sigma
Aldrich and RTECS, our scientists were able to gather and compare SDSs to see how
sulfur was classified. Additional GHS Classification information is presented below:
RTECS database:
Acute toxicity, Inhalation (Category 4)
According to OSHA you must classify sulfur as a Category 2 Skin Irritant, but you
should also classify it as an eye irritant, a flammable solid, and with Acute Toxicity
Inhalation Category 4.
Researching multiple sources and authoring the most comprehensive SDSs and Labels
is important, but also requires a great deal of time and effort without a system in place
to be more efficient. ERA’s SDS authoring software system lets you author GHS
compliant SDSs and labels on the fly for any of your materials in just minutes - and it
instantly references multiple databases to ensure you get the most reliable and
comprehensive data possible. As this case study shows, we take getting you the best
information possible seriously.
However, this shift presents a challenge because the systems most businesses have in
place will need to be updated. Classifying a single material can require a great deal of
testing, research, and uses an unfamiliar set of thresholds and requirements.
Raw chemical component information is the foundation of your SDSs and labels. If
you know which chemicals make up your materials, you have the essential building
blocks to classify your chemical hazards and assign proper precautionary statements.
If you get your materials from a vendor and need to author labels for containers you
use on site, take the extra step to ensure you are given reliable chemical component
data from your vendors. Ideally, you should collect all your data from vendors
electronically using a secure upload system to encourage higher quality data being
shared with you.
Regardless of which option you choose, it is essential that you assess their
methodology for classifying material under the GHS standards:
Look for a solution that pulls data from multiple sources, as this is the best way to
guarantee accuracy in your SDSs and labels. Extensive library and testing research
should be done on each chemical component to ensure hazard classifications are
correct. Doing this in-house gives you complete control of how much research gets
done, but also requires a far greater time investment. Using a GHS software platform
like ERA’s allows your authoring to rapidly cross-reference multiple reliable sources,
producing an SDS or label in just minutes.
Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the Ultimate GHS Hazard Guide from ERA
Environmental. By this point you should have a greater understanding of:
Thank you for downloading this GHS guide. If you have any questions about SDS
authoring, please contact ERA at [email protected] and one of our SDS specialists will
reach out to you.
If you would like to find out more about ERA’s SDS Management Software solutions
and how they can help you manage your facilities more efficiently and with less
Disclaimer: All information contained in this fact sheet is accurate as of January 2019. ERA
accepts no liability for the content of this guidebook, or for the consequences of any
actions taken on the basis of the information provided. To ensure the accuracy of the
information provided, please contact your state or provincial regulator. For the most
recent version of this document, please contact ERA at 1-438-799-6208.