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China SAWS Consults on Standard Chinese Phrases for Hazard and Precautionary Statements

15 July 2013, The China State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) has published standard Chinese phrases for hazard & precautionary statements for public consultations this week. Companies are requested to submit their comments before 2nd August.

Those phrases are based on the 4th edition of UN GHS to be adopted by China. Around 30% of phrases have changed compared to the old Chinese phrases in GB 20576 ~ GB 20602 safety rules for classification, precautionary labeling and precautionary statements of chemicals published in 2006. Some examples are listed as follows:

The draft Chinese phrases for h & p statements can be downloaded here.

Note: If you would like to obtain a spreadsheet summarizing all the differences between the old Chinese phrases & new phrases and further updates,  please complete this order form.

CIRS’s Comments

It is unlikely that those phrases will be changed back to the old phrases after public consultations because:

• The new phrases are consistent with the phrases in new draft China GB standards for classification and labeling of chemicals which are expected to replace GB 20576 ~ GB 20602-2006;
• Some phrases in the new version are less misleading and terrifying than old phrases. For example, the old Chinese phrase for “H350 May cause cancer” actually means “can cause cancer” in Chinese. In the new version, H350 has been translated into “might cause cancer”.

However, not all new phrases are better. For example, the new Chinese phrase for "P201 Obtain special instructions before use" is more difficult to understand.

Reference

- SAWS's Press Release

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