Classifications

Hazard classification is the identification of the intrinsic potential of a substance or mixture to cause adverse effects to humans or the environment.

It is used to communicate potential hazards during transport, handling, storage and disposal. Crucially this does not account for “risk”. To use an analogy, crossing the road is intrinsically “hazardous” because there is the potential for harm, but if the road is clear then your risk of being harmed is low.

A classification can either be self-imposed by industry (self-classification) or officially set by a regulatory authority (harmonised classification). Under laws of certain jurisdictions such as the EU, industry may be required to ‘self-classify’ substances as new knowledge uncovers adverse properties of the chemical.