Canada Releases Hazardous Substance Guides for WHMIS Classification

Written By: Atanu Das on Friday, January 31, 2020

According to Health Canada these technical documents serve "as educational and information resources" to aid suppliers in complying with Safety Data Sheet and label regulations. The five chemicals cover the following:

• acetone;
• adipic acid;
• diethylene glycol monomethyl ether;
• n-butyl acetate; and
• sodium hydroxide

In explaining supplier obligations, the Health Canada site further explains that, "Suppliers are responsible for producing SDSs that accurately disclose the hazards associated with products regulated under the HPA. Although the information contained in the Hazardous Substance Assessment may be used by suppliers when developing the SDS, the supplier is ultimately responsible for the accuracy and currency of the SDS. Suppliers may use public information, as well as proprietary information, when developing an SDS. While the classification information included in the Hazardous Substance Assessments can serve as a guide for classifying a product, suppliers must classify their products in accordance with the HPR, based on established scientific principles, and supported by studies and scientific data at their disposal, whether publicly available or proprietary. Hazardous Substance Assessments are based solely on publicly available information and may not be completely up to date. For this reason, Hazardous Substance Assessments are not used to determine whether an SDS is compliant under the HPA. Health Canada assesses the compliance of SDSs on a case by case basis, and in consideration of the information provided by the supplier to support their classifications."

Let us know if you have a need to comply with Canada requirements.