Middle East - GHS Status

On 21 May 2024, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of a second draft standard, i.e. GSO/TC01 /DS2/ GSO2654:2023, aligned with the seventh revised edition of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS 7). The draft was prepared by the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Technical Committee No. GSO/TC01. This GSO draft aims to ensure the safe production, transport, handling, use and disposal of hazardous substances in line with GHS requirements. In addition to the GCC members United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Kuwait, Oman, State of Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yemen has also notified this draft standard to the WTO. The comment period ended on 20 July 2024.

The GSO standard aims to:

• Provide a standard for classifying substances and mixtures according to the risks they pose to the environment, human health, and physical health.

• Provide elements for hazard communication (HazCom), including guidelines for Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and labelling.

The Gulf Cooperation Council was established in 1981 and has the following member states:

• United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• The Kingdom of Bahrain

• The State of Kuwait

• The Sultanate of Oman

• The State of Qatar

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

This implementation of GHS will depend on the adoption of a regulation on GHS, i.e. to make GHS mandatory, the GSO standard will have to be incorporated into the national legislation of each of the above-mentioned GCC and Yemen. Until the standard is incorporated into official legislation, it will be referred to as voluntary. Once incorporated, it will come into force as a mandatory standard. Previously, the GSO standard 1810:2007 was followed for the labelling of chemical products.

Insights from the Second Draft Standard:
Compared to the first draft of the standard, the following new provisions have been added to the second draft:

• Safety Data Sheets (SDS) must be revised within 18 months if new information becomes available
• Specific provisions for human health and environmental safety have been added.
• New definitions have been added for: 3.21 Supplier, 3.22 Hazardous materials, 3.23 Mixture, 3.24 Hazard, 3.25 Risks, 3.26 Accident, 3.27 Near miss, 3.28 Labels & 3.29 Risk classification

Previous GCC Draft Standard
On 6 November 2023, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the first draft standard GSO 2654:2023 for the implementation of GHS 7. This Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO) standard is based on a previous draft published on 30 August 2018.
 

Local Adaptation of GHS

The following building blocks of the GHS will not be adopted in the GCC:

• Desensitized Explosives, all categories

• Flammable Gases - 1A and 1B, Pyrophoric Gas - 1A

• Chemicals under Pressure, all categories

• Flammable Liquids, Category 4

• Acute Toxicity (Oral, Dermal and Inhalation), Category 5

• Skin Corrosion/Irritation, Category 3

• Aspiration Hazard, Category 2

• Aquatic Acute Toxicity, Category 2 and 3

GHS Labelling Requirements 

According to the guidelines in GSO 2654:2023, the label must be bilingual, i.e. in Arabic and English and shall contain the following elements:

• Supplier information: Name, address and telephone number of the manufacturer/supplier.

• Product identification: Chemical name, CAS number, identity, and composition of mixtures.

• Hazard pictograms (size must be 1/15 of the total label area, would ideally have a red border

in the form of a square set at a point).

• Signal word

• Hazard statement

• Precautionary statement (maximum 6)

• Supplementary information

Safety Data Sheets 

For the preparation of Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), the format and order of contents are given in the standard GSO ISO 11014:2013. The SDS must be in both Arabic and English and must contain the 16 standard sections. Whenever new information becomes available, the supplier must provide the updated SDS to the end user within 12 months. According to the GSO standard, SDSs should be revised once every 3 years. Although a mixture does not qualify for hazard classification, the SDS must include information on substances that meet the criteria for being carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction or toxic for target organs in concentrations greater than the values of:

• 0.1% for carcinogenic and reproductive toxicity

• 1.0% for target organ systemic toxicity (single and repeated exposure)

GHS in Work-Environment 

Although the GHS has not been implemented in Saudi Arabia, there are several laws which try to maintain guidelines and regulations to protect workers in the work environment. One of the organizations which is responsible for these regulations is the Saudi Arabian Occupational Safety and Health (OSH).