Your Chemical Labeling Responsibilities

As June 2015, all chemical manufacturers and suppliers are required to label all chemicals with GHS-compliant labels that include the following:

• Chemical Name/Identity (Full clearly recognized name; no acronyms)
• Signal Word
• Precautionary Statements
• Pictograms
• Name & Address of Manufacturer
• Hazard Statements

See a sample label

• As a teacher/chemical hygiene officer/laboratory technician, you are responsible for ensuring compliance for all manufacturer-labeled chemicals in your classroom or under your control.
• Chemical labels must be maintained intact and not removed/defaced.
• When you receive a new chemical, ensure the label is correct by checking it against its SDS; If the label is incorrect, contact the manufacturer for a replacement.

• Wherever possible, teachers should limit in-classroom labeling.
• When solutions must be made in the classroom and stored for future use, GHS labels and a corresponding SDS MUST be developed for their storage containers with the new information for the newly-created chemical. The new labels must contain all information required of any chemical manufacturer or supplier.
• When solutions are made in the classroom that will be used and properly disposed of within the same day, no further label or SDS creation is required. However, it is always a good safety practice to label these solutions with the name, concentration, date, and preparer's name.

• When you transfer a chemical from a manufacturer-labeled container to a portable/secondary container without changing the chemical in any way, a temporary label is not required as long as that chemical will be used immediately and depleted during that classroom session.
• However, Ward's Science recommends that all containers be labeled before chemical transfer to maintain the highest level of safety as possible.
• When chemicals are transferred to a portable container intended for storage over a period of time, the container must then be labeled with the appropriate GHS information as identified above.