What is GHS stand for?

GHS stands for globally harmonized system. GHS is a set of added regulations that reflect the regulations of Canada’s international trading partners. Common regulations result in a harmonized system which creates efficiency and can provide cost benefits.

In Canada, GHS is called 2015. WHMIS is a combination of Canada’s old WHMIS regulations from 1988 and the new GHS regulations which were adopted in 2015. These new regulations are currently ‘in force’ meaning that employees and employers can now train and be certified with new GHS regulations.

The two major components of GHS are the classification of hazardous materials and the communication of these hazards. Classification includes how to classify a pure and a mixed chemical the same way any other GHS user would. Communication of hazards are improved through GHs by adding chemical identity, symbols, and hazard statements to labels. GHS also adds safety data sheets (SDS) which contains 16 section where specific hazards and safety information is provided.