EXPERIENCE WITH GHS IMPLEMENTATION IN NEW ZEALAND GHS Stocktaking Workshop for Southeast, East, and Central Asia Beijing 15 – 17 September 2010 Dr Peter Dawson Principal Scientist, Hazardous Substances Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand)

OUTLINE  HSNO Act and Regulations  Implementation of the UN GHS  Revision of GHS implementing regulations  Issues with implementation  Solutions?

HSNO Act 1996 Hazardous Substances & New Organisms Act New Organisms 1998 New hazardous substances July 2001 Existing hazardous substances July 2001 – July 2006 All hazardous substances in all sectors (except transport) regulated in NZ by HSNO Act (Transport regulations based on UNRTDG, IMDG, ICAO)

HSNO Act 1996 Purpose To protect the environment and the health & safety of people & communities by preventing or managing the adverse effects of hazardous substances & new organisms ‘Cradle to Grave’ approach setting controls on how substances are classified, contained, labeled, stored, used, transported or disposed of Combined Environmental and OHS Legislation

Link of HSNO Purpose to SAICM  Link to UN SAICM (Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management) - “..to achieve, by 2020, that chemicals are produced and used in ways that lead to the minimisation of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.”

The HSNO System HSNO Act Threshold Regulations Classification Regulations Controls Regulations Property controlsRegulations s140Life cycle controls Is it hazardous? How hazardous is it? What do I need to do to manage the risk?

Is it hazardous? A substance is hazardous under the HSNO Act if it exceeds the regulatory threshold for one or more of the following (GHS) properties: Explosiveness Flammability Ability to oxidise Corrosiveness (metallic and biological) Toxicity (including chronic toxicity) Ecotoxicity

Is it hazardous? The thresholds are based on the UN GHS (Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) Set out in the threshold regulations - Hazardous Substances (Minimum Degrees of Hazard) Regulations

How hazardous is it? Hazardous Substances (Classification) Regulations Sets out classes and subclasses for each hazardous property based on GHS criteria Currently follows draft GHS criteria from 1999 All GHS classification categories adopted Revision process to align with GHS 2009 underway

Hazard Classification under HSNO  Classification framework has some additions to GHS Ecotoxicity (class 9) includes soil, terrestrial vertebrate and invertebrate ecotoxicity - based largely on US EPA criteria  Guidance on classification – data requirements, mixture rules, etc, given in ERMA User Guide to HSNO Thresholds and Classifications UG-03-1.pdf

Features of NZ Classification Regulations  Creates a classification coding system based on UNRTDG numbering: Hazardous property - Class eg. Class 6 - toxicity Subclass number eg. 6.1 – acute toxicity Hazard category eg. A – LD 50  5mg/kg Combination of the class, subclass and category constitutes a hazard classification eg. 6.1A (very acutely toxic) = GHS acute toxicity Category 1  Correlation between HSNO and GHS hazard categories provided at: 20HSNO%20HAZARD%20CLASSES%20AND%20CATEGORIES.pdf  Revision exercise will clarify how HSNO codes equate to GHS categories

Physical Hazard Classifications

Biological Hazard Classifications

Classification of Chemicals  Hazard classification data for 5400 chemicals can be found on the ERMA New Zealand Chemicals Classification Information Database (CCID)  Available on the OECD’s eChemPortal

Published classifications  Dangerous Goods and Scheduled Toxic Substances Transfer Notice fs/consolidatedGN35and128.pdf ~ 660 chemicals  Chemicals Transfer Notice fs/gn72june06.pdf ~ 5000 chemicals (~500 pesticide, vet met actives)

Classifications & controls  Classifications are ‘tools’ linking a substance and its hazardous properties to the appropriate level of controls  Controls are performance based Say what must be achieved, not how to achieve it Provide flexibility in ‘how’ to meet requirement  For hazard communication GHS label elements can be used but are not mandatory GHS safety data sheet criteria can be used but not mandatory Not in accord with ‘building block’ approach but need to accept overseas labelled products from non-GHS countries May revise as GHS implementation overseas progresses

Capacity Building Initiatives  Workshops/training programmes for enforcement officers and advisors  Seminars/workshops for industry, including in Australia  Guidance documents, codes of practice developed by ERMA and industry  NZCIC (Responsible Care) developed electronic compliance tool  Industry associations/regulatory agencies fully engaged, SMEs/workforce level less so  Need for capacity building at worker/public level

22 Revision of Threshold and Classification Regs  Issued in May 2001  Based on proposals for GHS in 1999 and UNRTDG 11 th Ed., 1999  Never amended since  GHS published in 2003, 1 st Rev. 2005, 2 nd Rev. 2007, 3 rd Rev. July 2009  UNRTDG 16 th Ed. 2009

23 Revision of Threshold and Classification Regs  Update to reflect ‘current’ (2009) form of GHS in a manner consistent with adoption by overseas jurisdictions: European Union Australia China USA

Issues with implementation Classification  Classification of mixtures when no mixture test data and lack of data available on components  Lack of data available consistent with GHS endpoints NZ reliant on overseas data generated to existing criteria such as EU R-phrases Difficult to determine if hazard threshold crossed for some chronic toxicity endpoints because of absence of data  Evaluation of data quality/applicability Variation in data available for a chemical ‘Expert judgment’, ‘weight of evidence’ – consistent application between countries/jurisdictions?  Shortage of ‘experts’  No harmonised international list of GHS classified substances

Issues with implementation Hazard communication  Dual system GHS/non-GHS labelling accepted Recognises NZ implementation of GHS is “ahead of other countries” Removes the need for relabelling Minimises compliance costs  Hazard based labelling versus risk based labelling – particularly for labelling of consumer products and pesticides

Issues with implementation Solutions?  Guidance on classification – particularly mixtures (in preparation) Sector specific guidance eg. IPIECA for petroleum products  Guidance on criteria for evaluating data quality/applicability  Development of repository of GHS compatible data – OECD Global Portal?  Global database of GHS classified substances? OECD survey of Rotterdam chemicals, SCEGHS survey of approach to lists, China/Japan/South Korea cooperation  Guidance in application of building block approach to different sectors  Guidance on hazard vs risk based labelling APEC project on application of GHS to consumer products

ERMA New Zealand  Contact details