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On September 14, 2024, China‘s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced a public consultation regarding the proposed project to revise 9 national mandatory standards, including GB 15258-2009 General Rules for Preparation of Precautionary Label for Chemicals. The deadline for feedback is October 14, 2024.
Goals
The proposed revision to GB 15258 this time aims to address the following two key issues:
To ensure that the hazard classification and precautionary statements are consistent with the latest version of UN GHS.
To meet the needs of national safety supervision of hazardous chemicals through the “One Enterprise, One Chemical Product, One QR Code” policy, enhancing the hazard information communication.
Key labeling requirements
GB 15258 outlines the definitions, content, preparation requirements, and usage methods for chemical safety labels, serving as a vital reference for enterprises. When preparing labels, companies must adhere to both GB 15258 and the GB 30000 series of standards (GB 30000.2 ~ 29). The following technical contents shall be paid attention to:
Language: All text on the label must be in Chinese, except for untranslatable proper nouns.
Classification: The hazard classification of chemicals must strictly follow the Hazardous Chemicals Classification Information Sheet attached to the Guidance for Implementation of China 2015 Inventory of Hazardous Substances.
Label elements: A complete label should include chemical identification, pictograms, signal words, hazard statements, precautionary statements, supplier identification, emergency contact numbers, and reference phrases. (*Pictograms or signal words may not be required for some chemicals with slight hazards.)
Order of information: Hazard classifications and statements should be organized in the order of physical hazards, health hazards, and environmental hazards.
Hazard statements and precautionary statements: These statements must be articulated in a manner consistent with national standards. For precautionary statements, they shall cover the following four parts and be indicated separately: prevention measures, emergency response, safe storage, and waste disposal.
Label integrity: Labels must remain intact during transmission, free from damage or obstruction.
According to the proposal this time, the requirement of displaying hazardous chemical QR code on the GHS label may be likely incorporated in the GB 15258. Enterprises are encouraged to provide timely feedback regarding the standard.
Background
Compliance with the labeling and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements is crucial for the robust operation and competitiveness of enterprises. They are also critical during inspections by various authorities, such as customs enforcement and special inspections for hazardous chemicals. GB 15258 mandates using GHS labels for hazardous chemicals to support the implementation of GHS in China. It was published in June 2009 and came into force on May 1, 2010. After that, no revision has been made. However, over the past 14 years, significant updates to the UN GHS have occurred, leading to noticeable discrepancies between the current standard and international requirements.
Moreover, in recent years, China has been making efforts to push forward the “One Enterprise, One Chemical Product, One QR Code” policy for hazardous chemical management. Successful pilot experiences have been made in Guangdong, Qingdao, Shanghai, etc. of China. Although hazardous chemical QR code requirements have not been mandatory at the national level so far, China has the ambition to push forward this policy nationwide in the coming future.
Taking all these into consideration, spearheaded by the Ministry of Industrial and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Registration Center of Chemicals (NRCC) of the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, together with various associations and organizations, drafted the revision of GB 15258 to align with the latest UN GHS and implement hazardous QR code requirements for GHS label preparation.
