by Tammy J. Murphy
On 19 December 2020, two proposals were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I. Issued by the Department of Health, both affect the requirements under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), Canada’s national standard for hazard communication, by amending the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR).
There are a diverse range of amendments proposed for the HPR, including aligning the HPR with the 7th revision of the GHS Purple Book (from the current alignment with the 5th revision), adding provisions for clarity to existing requirements, amending “specific revisions to better reflect their original intent” as well as administrative updates. Many of the amendments are necessary for the alignment to revision 7 to occur.
Highlights of the proposed amendments to the HPR include the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Two proposed changes for the HPA are needed to align with the expected revisions to the HPR. Schedule 2, Hazard Classes (Physical Hazard Classes) of the HPA would change as follows:
- Changing Item 3 from “Flammable aerosols” to “Aerosols”;
- Repealing Item 19 “Pyrophoric gases” as “Pyrophoric gases” would be included under “Flammable Gases Subcategory 1A”.
A 2-year transition period is also proposed in which sale or import of a hazardous product can be in accordance with the former Regulations and classification of a product, mixture, material or substance may also be in accordance with the former Regulations as long as the category/subcategory is per the former Act.
There is a 70-day, from date of publication, public comment period. The reader should consult the complete text of the two proposals for full details on the expected amendments.
Additional information about WHMIS can be found on Health Canada’s website: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/occupational-health-safety/workplace-hazardous-materials-information-system.html
Although this move to revision 7 of GHS is in accordance with Canada’s spring 2020 commitment to the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Joint Forward Plan, the United States, as of this writing, has not submitted its proposal to move to revision 7 of GHS to the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Recommended Action Items:
Become familiar with the proposed amendments to establish the impact on your products, substances, mixtures or materials.
Determine if any of your products, substances, mixtures or materials will need to be reclassified.
Submit comments, if applicable, prior to 27 February 2021.
References:
Department of Health, Hazardous Products Act, Proposed “Regulations Amending the Hazardous Products Regulations (GHS, Seventh Revised Edition).” Canada Gazette, Part I, 19 December 2020 edition (see pages 4236 to 4299): http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2020/2020-12-19/pdf/g1-15451.pdf
Department of Health, Hazardous Products Act, Proposed “Order Amending Schedule 2 to the Hazardous Products Act.” Canada Gazette, Part I, 19 December 2020 edition (see pages 4300 to 4301): http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2020/2020-12-19/pdf/g1-15451.pdf
Keywords:
Canada, Department of Health
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
Hazardous Products Act (HPA)
Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR)
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling for Chemicals (GHS)
Never Miss an Update:
UL’s global Regulatory Assurance Team contains more than 50 regulatory analysts worldwide, serving customers in six continents, with multi-lingual support in more than 30 languages. Our team can help you navigate the complex, ever changing regulatory landscape to understand and execute your compliance obligations.
For all of the latest regulatory news and the most important industry updates, sign up for our monthly Regulatory Round-Up Newsletter.