OSHA Sends HazCom Harmonization Final Rule to OMB

Yesterday, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a final rule from DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on “Update to the Hazard Communication Standard”. OSHA published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this rule on February 16^th, 2021.

According to the entry in the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda for this rulemaking:

“OSHA and other U.S. agencies have been involved in a long-term project to negotiate a globally harmonized approach to classifying chemical hazards, and providing labels and safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals. The result is the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The GHS was adopted by the United Nations, with an international goal of as many countries as possible adopting it by 2008.  OSHA incorporated the GHS into the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in March 2012 to specify requirements for hazard classification and to standardize label components and information on safety data sheets, which will improve employee protection and facilitate international trade.  However, the GHS is a living document and has been updated several times since OSHA’s rulemaking. While OSHA's HCS 2012 was based on the third edition of the GHS, OSHA’s current rulemaking is to harmonize the HCS to the seventh edition of the GHS, improve harmonization with international trading partners such as Canada, and to codify a number of enforcement policies that have been issued since the 2012 standard.”