Surviving the Elements: GHS Compliance and BS5609 Marine Labels

Hello and good afternoon. Today we're going to be talking about surviving the elements, GHS compliance, and very much more so importantly discussing BS5609 marine labels. So I'm Nicole Nelson. I'm a global product manager here at Brady. I actually handle our inkjet systems. I've had a number of roles here at the company. Work really closely with industries and industry compliance. So glad to be able to speak to you today. And then I have a co-panelist. My name is Paul Schneberger. I've been with Brady for 13 years. I have a chemistry background, so some of this stuff is very familiar to me along with GHS. And I'm going to share a little bit about GHS labeling, and how the British standard applies to these marine labels and the testing that goes into the British standard 5609 compliance.

Perfect. Yeah. So, we've been getting a lot of questions about specifically BS5609 as that compliance spec sort of grows in the industry, more and more people are interested in what that means for them and how do they comply and should they comply. So we thought we would definitely touch on this subject today. So that's going to be the first half of our session today. We're also going to go through testing standards. So understanding like what is being tested for BS5609? What does that mean? How do I make sure that the material that I'm labeling my chemicals with complies to that, and then what kind of solutions can I have? There's a wide variety. So, we're going to talk a little bit about that. We are capturing questions in the chat. So, if you have questions along the way, we have a wonderful moderator today, Will. He's going to be capturing our questions and then bringing them back up at the end of the session. So with that, Paul is going to start with the GHS piece.

Yeah. So we'll start at a really high level. What is GHS labeling? So GHS was a standard that was introduced globally. It's called the globally harmonized system of classification and labeling of chemicals. So chemical manufacturers are required to provide this information for hazardous chemicals that they produce. And then these labels stay on the initial container there. So in this case when we're talking about shipping chemicals maybe in drums, things like that, this is the type of label that you'll see on the outside of that drum which will give some information. So there's six core elements of the GHS label, right? The biggest one that everybody noticed and was the biggest change that we moved on from NFPA diamonds and HMIS labeling was the pictogram. So there's nine different pictograms and these pictograms indicate the hazard type of the chemical. So some hazardous chemicals have one pictogram, some hazardous chemicals have four pictograms. There's also a signal word. And the signal word can just be danger or it could be warning. And this is not something that you as a user of chemicals needs to figure out. This is something that the chemical manufacturer will provide. They'll also provide hazard statements which kind of give you the nature and the degree of the risk, and precautionary statements, like wear safety glasses, you should use gloves when you use this product. And they're giving that information to the user or to anybody that's handling this thing. The chemical name will be found on this label. And then the supplier info who manufactured the parts.

Now when we get into GHS labeling maybe in a workplace, so we can kind of look at this, right? The manufacturer kind of produces this information and maybe they label it on a 55 gallon drum and that 55 gallon drum is shipped to a location. And that's when we're going to talk about the British standard 5609 standards about what that label is. But I also just want to make sure that we cover the uses of this in a workplace. So, let's say you're a manufacturer and you're getting a 55 gallon drum of acetone say, when you take that 55 gallon drum and take a couple liters of it out, you may need to produce a GHS label to put that onto the secondary container, and you'll hear Nicole talk a little bit more about that as well, in addition to the labels that would maybe be on a shipping drum that would be for transport at sea. So GHS labels come in all kinds of different forms, but they've at least now been standardized to these six core elements that need to appear. And how you use those in the workplaces, and when you ship them, we're going to cover as we go forward here. So Nicole, you go to the next slide.

So understanding BS5609. This is the gold standard for durability of a label, right? And this standard typically or the standard is around marine immersion. It's the marine immersion testing standard for compliance with the international marine dangerous goods. So why did this get created? Well, if a drum or a chemical falls off a ship, which does happen, we want to be able to identify that if it's getting picked up by another ship, if it washes ashore, we want to be able to make sure that we know what's in there so that when the people that are handling that drum that they're picking out of the ocean are able to safely handle that cargo, right? If it's acid, right, we want to know that, right, if it's still sealed in there, just in case it gets punctured then we at least know it's not water, it's something dangerous. So the standard which we're going to cover is the actual durability of the label. So what ultimately this label is going to be able to survive is 3 months of continuous seawater immersion. And so that's the gold standard here, right? We're talking about a drum that falls off a ship and this label will survive for 3 months in saltwater. Go next slide.

So, who needs to use these materials? So, primary industries, right, chemical manufacturers. We already hit on chemical manufacturers, right? These are the ones that are producing the chemical and they're bottling it, putting it in a drum. If they're shipping it by seawater, they're definitely going to need to be using a certified material. Other industries, right, petroleum, oil distributors, paint formulators, hazardous waste processors that are moving volatile chemicals around. So that's kind of the primary industries. The regulatory, right? Any entity that's shipping hazardous chemicals needs to adhere to this compliance standards, right? If you're a shipper and you're working with a manufacturer shipping their products and they're not labeling them appropriately, you don't really want to be shipping their product, right? Because you're not sure exactly what's in there.

And then why else should we maybe care about this, right? These labels have been tested to be durable, right? And so, when we are shipping things domestically, maybe we're not shipping them over sea water, this is still a really good standard to follow or to find materials that meet this standard to be using it, right? We are dealing with hazardous materials. If a drum gets knocked over by a forklift or a hazardous chemical spills out of a back of a truck that's being transported, we want to make sure that we have good durable labels that we're going to be able to identify that and so that the first responders can respond appropriately with the proper personal protection equipment and to make everybody in that area safe. So this, when Nicole kind of talks about some of these labels that are available, these are good labels to be used not only for seawater transport but for a variety of different purposes throughout the workplace.

All right. So, how is BS5609 tested? There's actually four sections. Section one is just about kind of the standard, an overview, a general introduction to it. And section two and three are the specific tests that are done to make sure that the material meets, say the material and the print process meets the standard. So section two covers the base material that the product's printed on and the adhesive performance, right? So if we have a label, the label needs to be able to stick to there and it needs to be able to be legible and have the right performance. The label also needs to be able to withstand environmental conditions, right? So, if the adhesive is great, but the label all of a sudden crumbles and you're just left with adhesive, you're no longer going to have information on there. So, the big tests in section two are artificial weathering and UV exposure, right? So, this is putting it in sunlight, putting it in rain, wind, marine immersion in seawater, right, so salt water, extreme temperature cycling constraints, and adhesion tests. So taking a wheel and grinding onto the material to make sure that the material stays appropriate. So those are the tests of the material that are done to be able to make sure that the material will last.

Now, of course, there's information on that material, right? So let's just say we have a standard vinyl, we're going to print information onto that thing and we also need to make sure that that information is also able to be legible in that same three month time period. So we're looking at the print performance and the color fastness, the resistance to heavy sand and saltwater physical abrasion. So again, we're immersing this printed label in seawater and making sure that the information is still legible. Because if the information wears off, but the material is fine, it still doesn't get us anywhere. We don't know what that is in that hazardous chemical. And ultimately, this is a total system certification. So we're not just testing the material, we're not just testing the print process, we're testing the whole thing.

So, you can kind of see here, next slide. So, right, we have section two testing the certified media, section three testing the printer and the ink performance gives you the true regulatory compliance. So, right, if we think of a thermal transfer printer, we have a ribbon that's printing onto a material, we want to make sure that the ribbon is certified. We want to make sure that the label is certified and that printer that's printing and making that all work together is a certified system. So, it's really a system compliance equation. It's not just finding a material that works, we got to make sure that the material, the words, the print and all that does that. So, that's a total tested system. So, that gives you a little bit of a background on the British standard and some of the testing that goes involved. So, when we talk about materials that meet this standard, you'll have an understanding of what that means.

And so we have a little poll here, just to get a little flavor of kind of the audience and see what you have. So, we're talking about what technology do you currently use for printing GHS labels in house? So, are you using thermal transfer printers? Are you using on-demand color inkjet printers? Are you using laser printers or standard office desktop units? Or do you outsource all your label printing? So if you want to go ahead and give us some feedback, that would be awesome, and we will share the results once we give it about another 30 seconds, and then I'm going to turn it over to Nicole, and Nicole's going to talk a little bit about some of the printing options for GHS labels and cover a little bit more on the standard and some of the materials that Brady offers.

Perfect. Thanks, Paul. And I think everybody now can see why it's so important to marry that system together. And I've seen a lot of situations where you'll have maybe some material on a website that says BS5609 certified, but you don't really know what system that's going on. You don't know how they printed, how they tested, or if there's a TDS available. So, a lot of that is just really making sure that you've buttoned up your compliance as well with a reputable company, a reputable solution. When you're building out your total safety program, there's a lot of different options that you can do. And a lot of these work with a good GHS solution as well, right? Your material performance, maybe it's portable, maybe you're just doing your secondary labeling. Perhaps you're a lab getting in chemicals or your company's lab is using them and you just need a little portable printer to print some secondary GHS. You know, you're not necessarily the shipping department at this point or the receiving department working through the big drum chemicals. If you're obviously a chemical manufacturer, then this is integral in your daily life is knowing how to print onto a drum.

So there are a lot of different solutions here. If you're speaking very specifically with GHS and BS5609, there are opportunities where you can just buy some label stock that's preprinted, it will tell you it's BS5609 certified. I would keep that information if you're purchasing preprint materials, but there's a wide range of available GHS and BS5609 labels and maybe you just need some, you're not necessarily high volume, but as you start to grow in volume or you start to need more dynamic information like, "No, I really do want to print the diamonds myself. I want to be able to, perhaps you're scanning a chemical that's coming in, you have a database connected, and now you're printing your internal part numbers on there, your secondary labels," you're able to implement then some more dynamic printing systems.

So, you can do some portable printers. There's also inkjet, which allows you to print the diamonds as needed for GHS labeling. And then, of course, you have thermal transfer printers. A lot of those will already have the diamonds printed on the media or the warning headers. And you would just pop in if you only need one diamond, two, up to like that four diamond. There are options available for very wide format printing. Like if I'm a drum label, there are some specifications around there that say it needs to be at least 8 inches big, right? I got to be able to see that drum from pretty far away and know that label is on there. So, there are also options out there that are 8 inches. So like you could do an 8 by 10, for example, nice big drum label.

So, what bringing it in-house allows you to do is you can reduce your own cost. You don't have MOQ. If things change in your chemicals, you always have to be updated, so you're not tossing away stock with old and wrong information on there. So it's really nice to be able to save some cost if you're doing a higher volume. Obviously you can save time, so you're just printing what you need when you need it, and it can help drive productivity. You can customize. A lot of people now—we are seeing I think three main trends in labeling. One, we're seeing a lot of company logos come on these labels. Two, we are seeing barcodes come very specifically on these labels, maybe a QR code that will link internally to a procedure or to an SDS for that product. Or the third thing we're seeing is people wanting to put their internal part numbers on for traceability and tracking. So a nice system with printer scanner now you can hook it to a database, you can easily drive some productivity in your facility. And then, of course, ease of use. So are there easy to use products that kind of do that time savings for you? You could save your template. You can hook to a database. If you have an SDS database that you're working with or a software company, printers can would have a Windows driver, so you can just print down to the printers in many cases. So, it's really a great time saving and ease of use to be able to do that.

Okay. And I just want to add on to Paul's section about testing and really show some examples, right? So, companies that pass BS5609 testing typically will do rigorous in-house testing. I know Brady does. So these labels go through salt and fog, immersion, abrasion, sand, and they're rolling on these surface, round and round on these different jigs to simulate being in that environment for that long. Obviously UV, sunlight. Here you can even see an example of a label that we've had immersed for quite a while in our lab in ocean water. And adhesion, obviously, it has to stick to the drum, right? Whether you're using an HDPE drum, a fiber drum, you need to know what your drum is and then figure out and make sure that material is working for your drum type. And then temperature cycling. And a good company will provide a technical data sheet on all of these. So then you know what has been tested, how it's been tested, with what products for that part three, right? So part two being the label substrate, but then part three is what ribbon was used, what inks were used, what printing systems. So, really making sure that your system is buttoned up.

And then once you know, as a company, like when Brady feels good, we got a part number ready to go, one of our material types, we will send it into the UK certifying organization. And that is what everybody has to do to get BS5609. It is not something you can claim on your own. There is a governance on it. You will get a certificate as a company that you have passed BS5609 from the UK. And I always think it makes so much sense that it came from the UK because they're surrounded by water, right? Almost everything that they do is going to go through the channel or another location globally or through Europe. And so for them, it's just really important that it survives water.

So, how has that affected all of us? Well, it's kind of becoming the gold standard, right? Because there's not really another standard out there that talks about a barrel falling off a freighter or something or being on a dock and falling off a dock. You know, there's other scenarios where something could fall into water. We live here by Lake Michigan. A lot transfers across here. So people are saying, companies are saying this is a really great standard that we're just going to adopt internally. So do they have to? Not necessarily. It's via ocean freight spec specifically done specifically the UK, but it's such a great standard that so many people are adopting it now.

So when do you need it, right? Like I definitely need it. I am shipping a dangerous good, which is chemical, via ocean freight. I need to comply with GHS marine chemical labeling rules. I'm meeting the international shipping laws and the codes. And these are important to me as a business. I'm not going to violate. I'm going to be in compliance with these shipping codes. And a lot of companies are ISO compliant, they want the certifications and they want that risk management feature to say "I'm now going to log in the TDS, so I have a certified system. I have the form that said this was BS5609 certified," so that anything that should happen to you, you're going to want to have that documentation available.

Yes. So I can give a moment. Does anyone have any questions to pop into the questions chat at this point? We're just getting ready to wrap it up, folks. I will say I know in the US, for example, we see a lot of this on the East Coast and we see a lot through the Gulf States. We are seeing more through Seattle now and the West Coast. So more and more companies that are on those borders are adopting this just as standard practice. But now, of course, as companies internally start to ship to them, they're starting to adopt it. So we are seeing more and more requests of it. So you're going to want to look for solutions that have that certification.

Okay. So this is your compliance lifeline, right? GHS. I think a lot of us remember going through the whole GHS—it was due on this date, then it became due a little later because it just took people a while to get GHS going, and it's gone through different safety iterations as Paul had said, but I feel like most companies are really good with GHS now. We got the diamond set. We know what our chemical is. We're getting our labels all done. The databases are very accurate and are being kept up to date. So, I feel like GHS is something a lot of people have really good grasp around.

But then it's that BS5609, do I need that compliance, right? So, one, know if you are shipping overseas or if you're going ocean freight, and know that you will now be able to pass that three month saltwater survival. Obviously, you got to pair section two with section three. If you have section two and you can't guarantee that what's being put on that label is going to last, you pretty much might end up with a blank label, which isn't going to help anybody that finds that barrel at the end of the day. And so you got to make sure you have, we like to call it the marriage, right, between the systems and what's being put on that label and then the label itself, right? Because it's got to survive. It's got to stay on that barrel.

And then modernize. You can modernize your execution. Are you using a database? Is it linked to a printing system? You can use inkjet printers now for full color management. So, one label needs one diamond, the next label can print the two diamonds. So, you get just a lot of flexibility there. And I will say, you as an employee at your facility, you need to know what your EHS safety compliance teams have for your company policy. And if you're one of those on your team, you're going to need to really sit down and write out that policy if you don't have one. So, your employees need to know what you're standing for, how far you want to go with your policy, and if you want to adopt the BS5609 because you are shipping internationally, then how do they do that? And then helping them through that compliance and making sure that they have the solutions that are needed.

Okay. And with that, we'd like to thank you for your time today. We will take questions. Also, if you're interested, we have sample packs, we have other information on BS5609. We can have a demo done. So, if you want to use that QR code, contact us, we will get back to you with that as well. So, with that, I'll say, Will, did we have any questions?

Yes. Is my microphone coming in all right?

Yes.

Okay. Excellent. Then yes. So we do have a question. It is, "Does every chemical transported by sea require a BS5609 certified label or only hazardous ones?"

Nice. Paul, do you want to take that or me?

Yep, I'll take that. So the answer is no. If the product is not hazardous, this does not require that label. In saying that, it's similar to what we talked about of making sure that you have durable labels and making sure that you have, even if you're not doing it by sea or you're using it in a workplace, you want to make sure that you have a label that's going to withstand something. The best practice would be to still be able to put very much identifying information on that label or on that drum so that when we do identify it, there is no question what this thing is.

For example, if we're shipping some chemical that's not hazardous or some form of pure water in a drum and it's found, well, we at least then know it's water, it's labeled. But of course, it's not going to have pictograms, and it's not going to have hazard statements, and it's not going to have a signal word, but it's good to have some form of labeling. And it's best to use a label that meets British standard 5609 so that we know that the label and the information are going to hold up in that situation. Because if somebody were to find a drum that has no label on it, they're going to probably have to assume it's the worst thing and they're going to have to get all the PPE on and they're going to have to go through that process.

So, no different than within your workplace, right? You want to have good labeling standards, good labeling systems. I get it, right? You only have to label hazardous chemicals, but it's best to label it, right? I always give this story of acetone can look a lot like water, right? And so if someone gets some acid in their eyes and they see something that looks like water and it's not labeled, they may decide to take it and throw it on their face. Well, if it was acetone, then we got another hazard that we're introducing into the system. So, best to label everything even if it's not hazardous.

Okay. Thank you, Paul. We have a question that is, "How do extreme temperature fluctuations like a drum sitting on a hot deck or a dock in Dubai, then going into a cold storage hold impact the performance of these marine grade adhesives?"

Perfect. Yeah. So that actually will get tested by the company that manufactures the label, right? So you would want to look on that label technical data sheet to see what temperature extremes have been tested because if they haven't been tested to those global standards, they could flake off, they could freeze, the adhesive could not bond. So it's really critical that you find a material, which is part two of this, right, the material itself, that will adhere to the conditions in which you are shipping the product.

All right. And then we have one more that's come through. "We only ship our chemicals domestically via truck and rail. Is there any benefit to using BS5609 labels or is it overkill for non-marine transport?"

Paul, you want me, or I can do it.

A lot of times a company might have a polyester material that works both in BS5609 or just GHS, right? The BS5609 is really "I need to ship it overseas and it needs to survive the salt." GHS itself, you know, don't you also need to make sure it stays on your product, right? So a GHS solution and that label will also need to adhere. Maybe it's in a container being shipped rail through Arizona during summer. So, you are also going to want to make sure that that GHS label in and of itself that is on your product, your chemical, adheres and falls within the technical data sheet again of temperatures and conditions. So sometimes you're just going to get the benefit of also having BS5609 because it may be the same material that's been tested for both, right? And so you're definitely going to want to make sure you have your GHS label that's been tested for conditions, but then BS5609 is really more than you need if you're just shipping domestically rail through land.

Awesome. Good question. And that appears to be all the questions that we have.

Perfect. Well, we really appreciate you joining us today. I know Will has a plug for some of our upcoming webinars as well.

Yep. So, next month we are going to be covering the blueprint for lean success, so mastering 5S visual controls. And it'll be the same timeline of Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. Central time and 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. And then in October, same timing, we will have visual workplace and color around visual workplace safety in your facility. And I believe we might have Nicole coming back for us for the October one.

Yes.

We will add the registration links for these in the follow-up emails, but yeah, those will be coming your way soon.

Perfect. Thanks, Will.

All right. Thanks all. We appreciate your time today.