On 18 July, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) made public the GHS classification of 162 chemical substances, among which 140 chemicals are newly classified and 22 ones are re-classified. The English names of those substances are not available at present.
To facilitate companies to prepare GHS-based labels and safety data sheets, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) carry out hazard classification according to the JIS Z 7252-2009 (based on UN GHS 2nd Rev.), which is expected to be updated this year to make it in line with UN GHS 4th Rev. For other implementation rules of UN GHS in Japan, see Chemlinked news on 28 Mar.
There is no specific law in Japan for GHS implementation, and the relevant law introducing GHS to Japan is the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL), some chemicals under which are required to prepare labels and SDSs. In addition, the Act on Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management (PRTR Law) has also required labels and SDSs for two categories of chemicals:
Class I Designated Chemical Substances (462 subs)
Class II Designated Chemicals Substances (100 subs)
