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Section C – Regulations arising from Europe where it has not been possible to align with either of the common commencement dates

Globally Harmonised System of Classification & Labelling of Chemicals

The European Council and European Parliament have reached an informal agreement on the text of a Regulation to implement the United Nations Globally Harmonised System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) in the EU.  It is anticipated that the Regulation will be formally adopted by the European Parliament in September 2008, and will enter into force around the end of 2008.  The GHS aims to provide world-wide harmonised criteria for classifying substances and mixtures according to their health, environmental and physical hazards; and world-wide harmonised hazard communication elements, including requirements for labelling and data safety sheets. This will be a direct acting EU regulation which, once adopted, will apply in member states.