Who? Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards)
Alert: In June 2019 an amendment to the Brazilian ABNT NBR 14725 -2 standard (ABNT NBR 14725-2:2009/Em1:2019) was published. The amendment modifies threshold concentration limits for mixture classification for the following hazards:
- Respiratory or skin sensitization
- Carcinogenicity
- Reproductive toxicity
- Specific target organ toxicity—single exposure
- Specific target organ toxicity—repeated exposure
Implication:The modified threshold concentration limits are higher and thus allow for less strict classification. The new threshold values are equivalent to those used by the European Union for the above-mentioned health hazard classes, in the Classification Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation EC No 1272/2008. According to the amendment, companies have the option to classify mixtures using the previous stricter cutoff if they choose.
The threshold limits for disclosure on the Safety Data Sheet are maintained at:
- 0.1% for respiratory or skin sensitization; carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity
- 1% for specific-target organ toxicity, single exposure and specific target organ toxicity, and repeated exposure
The Brazilian national Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals standard remains in accordance with Revision 4 of the UN GHS.
Sphera’s Product Compliance SDS authoring tools allow companies a great deal of flexibility in adapting to regulatory changes such as this recent amendment to the Brazilian GHS classification standard. With GHS by Design, companies can conduct side-by-side impact assessments on product classifications based on these optional Brazilian threshold value changes and decide what is the best path forward based on their business needs.