Walter Meets GHS Compliance in U.S. and Mexico

Walter Surface Technologies (Montreal, QC) meets GHS compliancy in the United States and Mexico for all chemical products, including its Bio-Circle environmental solutions line.

In 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States adopted the new Global Harmonized System (GHS) legislation created by the United Nations. This legislation is a standardization of classifications and hazards related to chemicals in the workplace. Mexico has voluntarily adopted the GHS standardization’s set by the United Nations as well in order to facilitate the trades between countries. As of June 2015, all chemical products in the United States and Mexico must meet GHS requirements.

GHS serves to set rules for classifying hazards, in the same format and content for labels and safety data sheets (SDS) around the world. This initiative increases the quality and consistency of information provided to workers, employers and chemical users, and adopts a standardized approach to hazard classification, label and safety data and enhances the protection of human health and the environment.

Although GHS legislation requires Walter to reclassify all its chemical products, it will not affect the majority of the Bio-Circle environmental solutions product line as they are developed initially with green ingredients to reduce or remove all hazards that can affect the health and safety of workers.

“This is a great initiative adopted by OSHA and created by the United Nations,” said Patrick Lapointe, the vice president of research and development at Walter Surface Technologies. “As a company that consistently strives to develop new ways for our customers to work better and safer, Walter naturally adopted these standardizations. The safety of workers and the environment is a primary concern for us.”

www.walter.com