United Nations Regulatory News

On 27 July 2023, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) published the 10th revised edition of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS10). Th...

On 27 July 2023, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) published the 10th revised edition of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS10). The publication comes after the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals approved a series of amendments to the ninth revised edition of the GHS at its eleventh session on 9 December 2022. These amendments cover various subjects, including:

• Refinement of the classification procedure for desensitized explosives (Chapter 2.17)

• Implementation of non-animal testing methods for the classification of health hazards, with a particular focus on skin corrosion/irritation (Chapter 3.2), serious eye damage/irritation (Chapter 3.3), and respiratory or skin sensitization (Chapter 3.4).

• Rationalisation of precautionary statements to enhance user understanding without compromising their usefulness for labeling practitioners.

• Review of annexes 9 and 10 to ensure alignment of the classification strategy, guidance and tools on metals and metal compounds with the provisions for long-term aquatic classification toxicity in chapter 4.1.

The electronic version of GHS10 will be available for free here for consultation purposes in the six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish). As of now, only the English and French editions have been published. The other language versions will be added as soon as they become available.

At the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Stockholm Convention on 5 May 2023, more than 120 countries agreed to add 2 plastic chemicals and one pesticide to the Conventions lis...

At the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Stockholm Convention on 5 May 2023, more than 120 countries agreed to add 2 plastic chemicals and one pesticide to the Conventions list of substances for global elimination (Annex A). The delegates to the COP found that the chemicals, the plastic additive UV-328, the flame retardant Dechlorane Plus (also often used in plastics), and the pesticide methoxychlor all meet the Convention criteria as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) required for a global ban.

The uses and hazards of the 3 substances are:

However, time-limited exemptions were agreed on for the use of UV-328 and Dechlorane Plus. The expemtions are summarised in the tables below.

Several countries called for labelling of products that contain the 2 plastic additives while others opposed. The Convention’s Scientific Review Committee plans to evaluate options for identifying POPs in products and waste.