THE Chemical Industry Group under the Myanmar Industries Association
will send two of its members to Japan at the end of this month
to attend a course on the Globally Harmonised System of Classification
and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
U Aung Win, the group’s joint secretary, said the course
– provided by the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship
(AOTS) in Japan – will help the attending members upgrade
their GHS skills.
“The group will send two of its four members who have
already attended expert-level GHS courses,” he said, adding
that only 13 members had received training in the classification
system, at levels ranging from basic to expert, in Japan.
He said the group will arrange for the two participants to teach
what they learned in Japan to others upon their return to Myanmar.
GHS was adopted by the United Nations in 2003 to standardise
the classification and labelling of chemicals, as well as the
usage of data sheets, to protect human health and the environment
from toxic chemicals during handling, transport and use.
U Aung Win said the Chemical Industry Group was working to increase
public awareness about the important role played by GHS in overcoming
ignorance about chemicals, toxicity, safe handling and use.
He said people should be aware of the dangers of toxic chemicals
even though they are mostly used as raw materials at factories
and consumers rarely come into contact with them.
“But some dangerous chemicals such as lead can also affect
consumers indirectly,” he said.
U Aung Win said chemicals imported from other countries are
labelled with cautions written in their native language, making
it difficult for users to understand their dangers.
He said the Chemical Industry Group had provided GHS labels
in both the English and Myanmar languages to companies distributing
sulphuric acid produced at a factory in Monywa township run by
the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings.
“This was the first time our group applied GHS labelling
protocols, which helped carriers understand how to handle the
hazardous chemical,” he said.
