For international companies, following multiple sets of chemical regulation laws can be especially difficult, but international partnerships may make this process easier. In any case, using industrial printers gives the business the power to create appropriate warning labels that are also compliant with the latest government rules.
A press release from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced its collaboration with Canadian health agency Health Canada. Together, the two departments will work towards an international labeling system and safety sheet for use in both the United States and Canada.
The release also reports that Canada has taken regulatory steps towards the achieving the GHS so far this year, and this new action builds off of a previously established legal relationship between the two countries meant to foster such collaboration. Dr. David Michaels, the American Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, outlined the potential impacts of this upcoming work.
“We work in a global environment with varying and sometimes conflicting national and international requirements,” he said in an official OSHA statement. “Through this partnership, OSHA and Health Canada will work together to reduce inconsistencies among hazard communication regulations and provide concise information to protect workers exposed to hazardous chemicals without reducing current protections.”
In February, the Canadian government finalized its GHS implementation, a move that was expected to provide a national benefit of $400 million, as well as improved safety for companies that produce and sell potentially dangerous chemicals. It reflected a Joint Action Plan on behalf of both the Canadian Prime Minister and President Barack Obama.
With this in mind, companies with targets in both countries need color label printers that will render the GHS chemical label pictograms accurately. OptiMedia Labs has multiple options, including the VIPColor VP495, which can produce labels at industrial speeds.
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