Colombia Publishes Workplace GHS Regulation

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April 20, 2021Robert GuitteauBlog

On 9 April 2021 the Official Journal of Colombia published Resolution 0773 by Which Actions to be Developed by Employers for the Application of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemical Products in the Workplace are Regulated and Other Provisions on Chemical Safety are Issued. This resolution defines actions for applying the GHS in the workplace, which were approved in Decree 1496/2018

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As with Decree 1498/2018, Resolution 0773/2021 of the Ministries of Labor and Health and Social Protection is based on the Sixth Revised Edition (2015) of the UN GHS (Purple book). The new resolution defines the actions that employers must take in order to apply the GHS in the workplace.

The ten-page regulation contains sections on the scope of application, definitions, confidential business information, employer and employee responsibilities and instructions for labels, SDSs and pictograms. Note that both labels and SDSs must be in the Spanish language. The regulation specifically requires that the SDS contain an emergency local or toll-free phone line that is either a landline or a cell phone and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In Article 10, Resolution 0773/2021 published the following classification tables with concentration cut-off values:

  • Table 1. ​Cut-off values/concentration limits of the components of a mixture classified as carcinogens and that determine the classification of the mixture​
  • Table 2. Cut-off values/ingredient concentration limits of a mixture classified as toxic for reproduction or with effects on or through lactation that determine the classification of the mixture
  • Table 3. Cut-off values/concentration limits of the components of a mixture classified as specific target organ toxicants and which determine the classification of the mixture in Categories 1 or 2​

The resolution specifies that label sizes for containers should follow Regulation 1272/2008 of the European Union (CLP).

Finally, Resolution 0773/2021 provides transition periods of 24 months for pure substances and 36 months for mixtures.

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Entities that manufacture, import, export, process or use chemical substances in their manufacturing processes should be aware of the new GHS requirements and implementation deadlines.

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