29 CFR 1910.1200, the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), and the Chemical Industry

When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised the United States Hazard Communication Law (Ref: US 29 CFR 1910.1200) in May of 2012, it set off an avalanche of change in the Environmental, Health, and Safety (EH&S) circles of American industry.  Virtually every manufacturing and service industry will be involved in one aspect or another of adapting their existing hazard communication system to the new GHS based system for the classification and communication of chemical hazards. While virtually all industrial entities will be affected by the new standard, the segment of industry that appears to be set to experience the burden is the chemical manufacturing segment, with its close cousin petrochemical refining coming in a close second.