European Parliament Clears Legislation To Adopt U.N. Chemical Labeling Standards

摘要

The European Parliament Sept. 3 approved legislation that would adopt the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) into EU law. Under the measure, GHS classifications and labels for chemical substances will be incorporated into EU law staring in 2010, while GHS classification and labeling provisions for mixtures will take effect in 2015. Parliament approved the legislation by a vote of 604 to 9, with 13 abstentions. The vote took place during a plenary session in Brussels, with the proposal overseen in the Parliament by Italian lawmaker Amalia Sartori. Sartori also secured backing for two related supplementary legislative texts, amending legislation on cosmetics, toys, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), end-of-life vehicles, waste electrical and electronic equipment, and detergents to make it consistent with GHS. By overwhelming majorities, lawmakers supported these measures, which deal with GHS definitions and terminology.