Korea GHS

Share |

Korea

Korean GHS Standard requires manufacturers and importers of chemical substances or mixtures to label their containers/packages if hazard criterion is met. According to Regulation for Classification & Labeling of Toxic Chemicals in Korea (Public Notice 2008-26), substances need to be classified and labeled from 1 July 2011. The newly revised Standard for Classification & Labeling of Chemical Substance and Material Safety Data Sheet (Public Notice 2012-14) requires mixtures to be classified and labeled from 1 July 2013.

Building Blocks & Classification

Similar to EU, Korea has not adopted the following building blocks:

Flammable Liquids Category 4
Acute Toxicity Category 5
AQUATIC TOXICITY (ACUTE) Category 2 & 3

When classifying chemicals for Korea, one shall not only consider the building blocks and concentration limits adopted, one shall also pay attention to the amended list of GHS classification and labelling for “Toxic Chemical” regulated by TCCA. It is mandatory for companies to use the GHS classification from the list to prepare SDS and chemical labels from 1 July 2011. This list is constantly being updated.

The list is available here:

http://ncis.nier.go.kr/ghs/ghs_info/

Safety Data Sheet

Korea uses standard 16-section SDSs. However, there are special requirements in Korea:

SDS shall be prepared in Korean in principle, but proper nouns such as chemical name, the name of foreign entities, etc., may be written in English;
SDS prepared in foreign language may not need to be translated into Korean if it is for a reagent which is used solely for test and research in laboratories;
In section 3 composition/information, the concentration of ingredients may be indicated in the form of ranges (by using the lower limit and the upper limit) within ± 5% of the contents. In this case, if the contents are less than 5%, the lower limit shall be indicated as “≥ 1% (0.1% for carcinogens and germ cell mutagens, 0.2% for respiratory sensitizers [gases only], and 0.3% for reproductive toxicants);
In section 14, Korean regulations shall be provided.

Under Korea REACH, anyone who transfers a registered chemical substance or preparation containing the substance shall provide the following information to downstream users in the SDS:

registration number;
substance name;
information about hazard and risk;
safety control information;

Labelling

Korean GHS label is standard GHS label and it usually contains the following elements:

Chemical name
Pictogram
Signal Words
Hazard Statements
Precautionary Statements
Information of the supplier

It may also include elements such as UN no, proper shipping name and quantity. It shall be noted that if a product has been classified into 4 or more hazard categories, only 4 pictograms need to be indicated based on the order of hazard/risk. The number of p-statements can be limited to 6.

A standard Korean GHS template can be found here.

Our Korea Chemical Compliance Services

Training & consultancy;
Search and confirm if a substance is new in Korea;
Application of confirmation of exemption under TCCA & K-REACH;
Chemical notifications under TCCA & K-REACH;
Test monitoring/translation of study reports;
Preparation of Korean SDS and label.

About Us and Contact

We have provided one-stop chemical notification and GHS services for many companies doing business in/with Asia (for example, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Philippine). We help them find out how their chemicals are regulated in those countries or regions and offer free initial consultations about how to comply. If notification is required, we help them submit chemical registrations. We also prepare or translate GHS compliant SDS and label in accordance with their national chemical legislation at affordable prices.

If you have any questions about chemical compliance in the Asia-pacific region, please contact:

CIRS China
11F Building 1, Dongguan Hi-Tech Park, 288 Qiuyi Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou 310052, China
Tel: +86-571 8720 6555 | Fax: +86-571 8720 6533
Email: service@cirs-reach.com