Klausbruckner & Associates attended the HazMat 2007 conference in Sydney, NSW, which was sponsored by the FPAA. The presented program had two key focuses, (1) international and Australian chemical management, and (2) dangerous goods, emergency response, and contaminated sites. The speakers discussed the various new rules imposed by the change to the GHS criteria, as well as potential cost effective ways of transitioning to these new standards. Considerable review was given to which parts of the GHS criteria should be implemented immediately and what this will mean for exports to European countries which are in process of adopting certain parts of the GHS. The timetable in transitioning to the new rules has become crucial for Australian businesses and an overview was given in order to decide on which areas should make the transition now.

As an American-based company, we were intrigued by some of the new rules the GHS criteria is setting forth. Compared to american standards prescribed in codes of NFPA and ICC, GHS codes seem equivalent; yet there are many and distinct differences between the ruling sets. The GHS rules have been extensively rewritten to improve and to comply to many issues associated with todays hazardous materials and dangerous goods; however, numerous questions remain on how the various codes and regulations can be harmonized to address issues arising from commerce of hazardous materials in a global environment.

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