Top » What is the GHS classification 'Health Hazards' composed of?

Published by Jeff Burns on 30.09.2009 in and previewed 67 times


The second class of the GHS regulations concerns the class of "Health Hazards", which is composed of ten subsections:

1. Acute Toxicity
2. Skin Corrosion/Irritation
3. Serious Eye Damage/ Eye Irritation
4. Respiratory or Skin Sensitization
5. Germ Cell Mutagenicity
6. Carcinogenicity
7. Reproductive Toxicity
8. Specific Target organ Toxicity Single Exposure
9. Specific Target Organ Toxicity Repeated Exposure
10. Aspiration Hazard

However, the ten listed subsections are yet again broken into one or more hazard categories.
In order to determine and classify a product, one major part of the gathered information is taken as evidence from humans. For classification purposes, reliable epidemiological data and experience on the effects of chemicals on humans (e.g. occupational data, data from accident databases) should be taken into account in the evaluation of human "Health Hazards" of a chemical. Testing on humans solely for hazard identification purposes is generally not acceptable.

In case when an MSDS/SDS is being prepared one important fact needs to be taken into consideration when classifying a certain product into the "Health Hazard" category and its subsections which is the precedence for the allocation of symbols. As stated in the GHS regulation, "For substances and mixtures covered by the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, the precedence of symbols for physical hazards should follow the rules of the UN Model Regulations. In workplace situations, the competent authority may require all symbols for physical hazards to be used." For "Health Hazards" the following principles of precedence apply:

1. If the skull and crossbones applies, the exclamation mark should not appear,

2. If the corrosive symbol applies, the exclamation mark should not appear, and

3. If the health hazard symbol appears for respiratory sensitization, the exclamation mark should not appear where it is used for skin sensitization or for skin or eye irritation.

One and a very important detail to note is that, the GHS regulation does not involve uniform test methods or any supplementary testing to address adverse health outcomes. GHS regulation does not intend to harmonize risk management or assessment procedures, but to enhance the protection of human health and the environment.

About Author

Jeff Burns writes for Nexreg Compliance Inc., a company that provides GHS services and MSDS authoring.

Link to this Article



Click here to publish this article in your site or newsletter.

Rate this article: