I was speaking recently at a VPPPA (OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association) conference on HazCom compliance. The issue of the Global Harmonized System, more commonly known as GHS, arose multiple times, which suggests to me that there are a lot of questions out there.
So what exactly is GHS? The idea was born at the Global Earth Day Summit in 1992. In short, it’s a world-wide standardized approach to hazard communication, which is supported by the United Nations and regulatory agencies around the globe. The stated aim of the GHS is to “enhance public health and environmental protection by ensuring safe transport, handling, use and disposal of hazardous materials.”
