Hazard and Prevention statements

The R & S phrases have been used within the EU for several years but will be gone after 1^st June 2017, when, any mixtures that are still on the shelf must be relabelled to conform to the CLP regulations. The R phrase is being replaced with the hazard statement and the S phrase is being replaced by the prevention statement, the advantage of the new codes is that they will be used in all countries that implement the UN GHS framework, which will make it easier for businesses to operate internationally.

Hazard Statements

The hazard statement codes are linked, in most instances, to a single CLP classification and category.

Some of the hazard statements have space(s) in them so that the supplier can enter extra text such as the route of exposure when there is no other route that can cause the hazard i.e.

H372

Causes damage to organs <state all organs affected, if known> through prolonged or repeated exposure <state route of exposure if it is conclusively proven that no other routes of exposure cause the hazard>.

As there can be multiple exposure routes and or organs affected you could create multiple copies of the statement and code giving different options i.e.:

	H372o	Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure via swallowing.
	H372ol	Causes damage to organs (liver) through prolonged or repeated exposure via swallowing.

Out of the 88 hazard statements only 11 expect you to add information when you know that it is conclusively proven.

Prevention statements

The prevention statements have been created as building blocks, just like the UN GHS framework, this allows the supplier to merge statements to form a statement for example:

	P303	IF ON SKIN (or hair):
	P361	Remove/Take off immediately all contaminated clothing.
	P352	Wash with plenty of soap and water.

This would become:

P303+P361+P352

IF ON SKIN (or hair): Remove/Take off immediately all contaminated clothing. Wash with plenty of soap and water.

There are 17 prevention statements out of 136 statements that expect you to add information such as temperature not to exceed, again you could create duplicate prevention codes and statement to show multiple temperatures like:

	P411-20	Store at temperatures not exceeding 20oC/68oF.
	P411-30	Store at temperatures not exceeding 30oC/86oF.

Within Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 are listed the authorised translations for both the hazard and prevention statements for each language within the European Community.