Dokument-ID Dokumenttyp Autoren/innen Persönliche Herausgeber/innen Haupttitel Abstract Auflage Verlagsort Verlag Herausgeber (Institution) Erscheinungsjahr Titel des übergeordneten Werkes Jahrgang/Band ISBN Veranstaltung Veranstaltungsort Beginndatum der Veranstaltung Enddatum der Veranstaltung Ausgabe/Heft Erste Seite Letzte Seite URN DOI Lizenz Datum der Freischaltung OPUS4-42704 Zeitschriftenartikel Wilrich, Cordula; Brandes, Elisabeth; Michael-Schulz, Heike; Schröder, Volkmar; Schwarz, Silke; Wehrstedt, Klaus-Dieter UN GHS ‒ Physical hazard classifications of chemicals: A critical review of combinations of hazard classes One of the fundamental principles of the UN-GHS (Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) is that all hazards of a chemical should be assigned and communicated. There is no general prioritization of hazards in the sense that certain hazard classes are not applicable if another one has been assigned. In contrast to health and environmental hazards, there are physical or chemical factors which preclude certain combinations of physical hazard classes. So far, there is no common understanding as to which combinations are relevant and which not. For example, should a pyrophoric liquid be classified as flammable liquid in addition, or is this redundant and unnecessary? In the course of the implementation of the GHS by countries or sectors and the actual application by industry all over the world, such questions become more and more important. This publication systematically discusses all combinations of the UN-GHS physical hazard classes and assesses them with regard to the relevance of possible simultaneous assignment to a chemical. For many of the combinations an unambiguous decision based on theGHS alone is not possible, thus confirming that the question which physical hazard classes might be assigned simultaneously to a chemical is not trivial. As one more milestone on the path to a globally harmonized system for the classification of hazardous chemicals, this should be discussed and ultimately solved on a global basis. It is the hope that this publication might serve as an impetus for such discussions. Elsevier Inc. 2017 Journal of Chemical Health & Safety 24 6 15 28 10.1016/j.jchas.2017.03.005 2017-11-06