OSHA Publishes Final Rule Aligning Hazard Communication Standard With GHS

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration March 20 released a final rule that aligns its hazard communication standard with international systems.

The rule, scheduled for publication in the March 26 Federal Register and effective 60 days later, includes a category for “hazards not otherwise classified” and covers combustible dusts—issues that had raised concerns among industry groups and safety advocates.

The new rule aligns the hazard communication standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200) with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. Completing a regulatory process that began with an advance notice of proposed ...