Abstract
The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) was issued as United Nations Recommendations in 2003. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) encouraged countries to implement the GHS as soon as possible with a view to having the system fully operational by 2008. Since then, many countries all over the world have implemented or are preparing to implement the system. The pace and extent of global implementation of the GHS, though, have been noted to be uneven and diverse. The status of the implementation of the GHS in the workplace in the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan was studied and compared with that in the EU and the USA. Comparisons focused on the provisions of the regulatory system including accountability and penalty; target chemicals; target audience; and hazards exempted from classification. The approaches to implement the GHS varied according to the countries and the implementation, to a larger extent, would depend on existing regulatory systems. Because the GHS, by its form and intent, is recommendatory, the scope and extent of the GHS implementation in every country around the world will not be the same at any given. This paper would be helpful for the countries to consider the implementation of the GHS.
