Japan Amends Chemical Labeling Regs & Guidelines to Conform to GHS
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that it revised ordinances regarding the provision of information about harmful chemicals and their handling to: (i) conform to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Label-ling of Chemicals (GHS), and (ii) reconcile the standards regarding indications about hazardous and harmful chemical products. These revisions are effective June 1, 2012, for notification of chemical substances, and April 1, 2015, for mixtures. METI also revised its guidance on Measures to Be Taken by Business Operators Handling Designated Chemical Substances for Class I and II chemicals substances.
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(METI revised, among other things, ordinances based on the Act on Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management Thereof (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) and Material Safety Data Sheet (SDS) systems) (Chemical Management Act).)
Regs on Provision of Information for Handling Substances Revised
METI said it revised its requirements on Provision of Information on the Properties and Handling of Designated Chemical Substances, etc. (Ordinance of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry No. 401 of 2000). Changes include:
Additional information requirements in SDS. METI says that, in order to be consistent with the provisions with the revised GHS, it added six sections such as "first-aid measures," "exposure control," and "personal protection" as information requirements in SDS under the Chemical Management Act. Businesses will be required to indicate the relevant information on the products to follow the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) Z7253 corresponding to GHS and the SDS under the Industrial Safety and Health Act. As a result, JIS will become the only standard for labeling information on chemical substances in business transactions.
(JIS Z7253 is was published in Japan’s official gazette on March 26, 2012, and covers the indication of information about hazardous and harmful chemical products based on GHS.)
New labeling requirements for physical properties & handling. According to METI, In order to be consistent with the GHS provisions, businesses will have to provide information on the physical properties and handling of specified chemical substances as information requirements in accordance with the Chemical Management Act, through new labeling of such substances following JIS Z7253.
Cabinet Order number no longer required. In this revision, the obligation to mention the number of the Cabinet Order for specified chemical substances and other substances when providing information using SDS is removed.
Guidelines for Handlers of Chemical Substances Revised
METI also revised its Guidelines on Measures to Be Taken by Business Operators Handling Designated Chemical Substances, etc. with respect to the Management of Class I Designated Chemical Substances, etc. and Class II Designated Chemical Substances, etc. A request that businesses voluntarily improve management of specified chemical substances according to the Japanese Industrial Standards Z7252 and Z7253 will be added to Article 3(2)(iv) of the Chemical Substance Management Guidelines under the Management Act, stipulating "Matters concerning utilization of information on the properties and handling of Designated Chemical Substances, etc."