Suppliers selling products in both Canada and the
U.S. will need to ensure their products are compliant
with the new regulations by the earliest deadline...
March 2021 SPRAY 33
business information claim. These changes will result in greater clarity
and more appropriate requirements for Canadian workers.
Changes to aerosol classifications
The updates to the aerosol classifications will be of particular interest
to SPRAY readers. Under the current WHMIS regime, aerosols
intended for workplace use may be classified as either Flammable
Aerosols Category 1 or 2 based on their physical characteristics, in
addition to the Gases Under Pressure category that also applies to
“non-flammable” aerosols.
The amendments will change the hazard name from Flammable
Aerosols to Aerosols and include a new Category 3 for non-flammable
aerosol products. A new provision will clarify that products in the
Aerosols hazard category need not also be considered for the Gases
Under Pressure hazard. Although the hazard names are changing, the
classification criteria for aerosols are expected to remain the same.
Other key classification changes
Flammable Gases Category 1 will be divided into subcategories: 1A
and 1B. The criteria for subcategory 1B will include flammable gases
that are not pyrophoric or chemically unstable and have a lower
flammability hazard than subcategory 1A products. These changes
will go hand-in-hand with new definitions for chemically unstable
gas and pyrophoric gas.
The classification criteria for oxidizing solids will be expanded to
include test procedure O.3: Alternative test for oxidizing solids. It is
still acceptable to use test O.1, which is based on the mean burning
time of a mixture of potassium bromate and cellulose. The new O.3
criteria allows for the determination of oxidizing solids using an
alternative method based on the mean burning rate of a mixture of
calcium peroxide and cellulose.
Definitions and classification criteria for various GHS hazards
will be updated and new definitions for germ cell mutagenicity
and carcinogenicity will be added. For example, the classification
procedures for mixtures with the following hazards will be updated
for additional precision:
• Organic Peroxides;
• Acute Toxicity; and
• Specific Target Organ Toxicity–Single Exposure–Category 3
These are a few of the key classification changes that have been
proposed, in addition to a variety of other updates, corrections and
clarifications to the original provisions of the HPR. The full list of
proposed changes can be found in the Canada Gazette at gazette.
gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2020/2020-12-19/html/reg4-eng.html.
When to expect the changes to come into force
As SPRAY goes to press, the amendment is still in the proposed
status. The two-year transition period will begin on the date when
the HPR revision comes into force, which is expected to happen in
the first half of 2021. This means that suppliers will have until 2023
to comply with the updated requirements.
In Spring 2020, the U.S. Office of Information & Regulatory
Affairs and the Office of Management & Budget published a rule
(reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202004&RIN=1218-
AC93) indicating that they intend to update The U.S. Occupational
Safety & Health Administration’s
(OSHA) Hazard
Communication
Standard (HCS) to
GHS 7th Revised
Edition as well as
codify a number
of enforcement
policies that have
been issued since the
2012 standard. Although
the objective is in place at the time
of writing this article, dates for these changes have not been set. Despite
coordination between Canada and the U.S., there is a chance
that the timing of implementation may not align perfectly due to
regulatory delays and differences in implementation dates. This
could result in the need to update SDS and labels in one country
sooner than the other.
Suppliers selling products in both Canada and the U.S. will need
to ensure their products are compliant with the new regulations by
the earliest deadline. Updating products early to comply with new
regulations in one country should not result in any compliance
issues in the other country. For example, if the HCS update is implemented
first, suppliers selling products in the U.S. will need to make
sure that their SDS and labels comply with the new requirements.
The updated SDS and labels will still be compliant in both countries
if the Canada-specific requirements, such as French translations, are
also considered.
Health Canada will continue to enforce the requirements for
workplace hazardous chemicals according to the provisions of the
HPA. Training resources will be developed for inspectors to promote
a common understanding and interpretation of the new regulations.
For more information about your obligations under Canadian WHMIS
regulations, contact our team at Nexreg Compliance. Spray