PHMSA and OSHA Prepare for UN GHS and Hazmat Meetings

UPDATE 06/15/17: PHMSA has now cancelled its Pre-UN meeting. OSHA's pre-UN meeting will proceed as scheduled. 

In July in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations Subcommittee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classifying and Labeling Chemicals (UNSCEGHS) will hold its 33^rd session, which OSHA will attend. The Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCETDG) will hold its 51^st session, where PHMSA will be in attendance.

To prepare for the meeting, OSHA invites interested parties to attend a public meeting on June 20 at the US Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, D.C. A dial-in teleconference will also be available, details for which can be found toward the end of this Federal Register notice.

The Globally Harmonized System of Classifying and Labeling Chemicals, GHS for short, is an international standard for communicating hazards through pictograms, chemical labels, and Safety Data Sheets. OSHA adopted elements of the GHS into the US hazard communication regulations, found at 29 CFR 1910.1200, in 2012.
 

(Cancelled) PHMSA Hazmat Pre-UN Meeting 

UPDATE 06/15/17: PHMSA's UN prepareration meeting has now been cancelled. In addition, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will hold its own pre-UN meeting before the 51^st session of the Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods in Switzerland.


PHMSA’s public meeting will be held on June 20 as well, and PHMSA will provide updates on recent hazmat regulatory actions. PHMSA also requests comments on potential new dangerous goods-related items to be considered on the international stage.

The UNSCETDG meeting will be held in Geneva from July 3—7.

More information, including a provisional agenda for the UN meetings can be found here.

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Tags: GHS, hazard communication, hazmat shipping, osha, PHMSA