OSHA has scheduled a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for March 2019 in regards to the agencies intention of updating the current Hazard Communication Standard. The current standard, which is derived from the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), was issued in 2012. The GHS is a living document and therefor has had many revisions made to it since its inception in 2008. The current GHS-HazCom was based on the third edition of the GHS and now OSHA is looking to incorporate revisions 4 through 7 into the new standard.
With the inclusion of the 4 revisions, there are many areas for potential change within the GHS-HazCom. Some possible changes are:
- Updates to multiple SDS sections to provide further clarity and instruction
- Updated labeling elements e.g. hazards, guidance, precautionary statements
- New physical hazard class, categories and categorization criteria