Australia's Science Forum

I ask this because my off sider says he has never seen an official directive from the DEC about GHS .( And he is quite meticulous with his info)

I only became aware of it myself after seeing a demo label software offer from Omega ....again not official from DEC.
I then became curious and found it is true

There are links on this forum to WHS which clearly prove that it is a requirement but my question is "When and how did DEC notify any of you about this ? "

I need to know because my off sider is trying to organize a meeting between us and the head teacher tomorrow to basically say he's not worrying about it as he has no official word .

I guess because it is a law of Australia now, the D of E feel we should know about it. I do agree, but waiting for the D of E to all send us a note, would it ever happen?????????????????

I can't say as I'm in the CEO Syd system. I "think" an email was sent a couple of years ago or it was mentioned when I attended one of those ASET training days. I had an audit last year so it was brought up then re: ghs labels as well.

I would have assumed someone had to be notified in the school as we need to change our labels by 2017 (is that correct?). I hope you can find out soon!

I am going into GHS prep over this year.
I have added a column to my chemical stocktake document, beside the SDS date one, so when I do the new label I can tick it off so I know where I am up to. AND, if we get an audit, I can show that it is 'in progress'
BUT I also think that the CSIS review should also reflect the GHS. Not sure when / how that happens.

It is a shame that the labbie seems to be the last to know. The GHS labelling came in with the new WHS Act 2011. This is a NSW act, so what we have to do in NSW may be slightly different from other states. The only thing I know of that is different, is that NSW will require old chemicals to be relabelled but there are other states that don't require this to be done. I don't work in a DET school, but you're not alone.

I certainly have had no official memo from anyone. I am at an independent school. I have talked to the business manager and she knew nothing about it either. And my head teacher would have no clue. I have gained all my information from this site and then done research. I figure if I can show its a work in progress then I'll be ok.

We have been upgrading since we heard about GHS at the ASET conference quite a few years ago - it takes time to do it, while still keeping up with prac work. All our chemicals drop bottles etc are GHS now, and I have just completed the Hazard register for the whole school - GHS compliant

Hmmm just got off the blower to a labbie I know at another DEC school ....seems first he's heard about it too .

Thank you for all your reply's so far . I wonder how can it be that this has slipped by in nearly 4 years since the 2011 WHS act that nobody in the education Dept has officially alerted us to this ? .It seems to me that only those who have been to conferences or frequent sites like this have any idea about it .

Is it such a big deal ?

Not NSW, but the only vague mention we have had of it is through our schools WHS compliance officer. All other info has come through out Lab Tech association or science teachers association.

We have been on top of it since the act was passed in our state. We are pretty much compliant.

Not sure what you mean by your question " is it such a big deal?" It is a big deal in the fact it is required to comply by law. It is also potentially a big job if you haven't started to meet your obligations yet. Total compliance is mandatory by 1st Jan 2017.

linotas....sorry for the flippant sounding question ....it was my bad attempt at sarcasm towards the DoE's apparent failure to notify us of what is a serious undertaking .

Obviously if its Law we must do our best to comply .....and certainly its a monumental task , I would make a conservative guestimate of over 500 containers I have to label before I start on the dropper bottles .

Incidentally I have started this task ....it was when My offsider saw what I had been doing and questioned why I was doing it that I realized he had no Idea about it .

linotas wrote: Total compliance is mandatory by 1st Jan 2017.

Well I would have a reasonable guess that by the 1st Jan 2017 95% of schools will be non compliant simply because nobody told them about it .

What happens if a school is non compliant ? are all science pracs banned until the problem is rectified ?

That could be one way a school could mitigate the risks - not sure how much fun that would be for anyone!

As with all WHS compliance, if there was a reason for Workcover to come onto the property, they could fine the school or issue improvement notices if there were any failures in the system eg incorrect labelling, no risk assessments, no records, no SDSs - the list goes on...

You would think that all large organisations would have been on top of this years ago. I can only suggest to people to start making a lot of noise and asking for help NOW.

And Richard - I did note your sarcasm in your post. I don't think most of the powers-that-be see it as a big deal. I was fortunate that my SSSO came down to the prep room and had a look at what needs to be done regarding re-labelling. I have been promised some help if I need it. This was greatly appreciated!

I decided to relabel chemicals as I use them. That way I figured by the end of the year I will have the ones we use at least labelled. When I told the business manager this her response was anything not labelled by the end of the year we obviously don't use regularly so dispose of it!

Click n A_Z icon from D of E intranet
Click on Assess management
Click on Safety & Compliance
Click on CSIS chemical safety in schools.

Chemical Safety in Schools (Updated 10 February 2016)
Scroll down this page until you reach this sentence:

Please note: the transition period for the labelling of chemicals is 5 years, with a compliance date of 1 January 2017.

Oops - that should read Asset management!

Only found it while following the links to listen to the

'Webinars (Advice for School Principals, GA and Science Faculties Staff)'

as suggested by Labbie recently

GHS was brought up at our last WHS meeting. They seemed to think it was a brand new thing, and I don't think anyone is all that worried!

I've been telling people about GHS every year for the past 3 or 4 years, every time chemical register sheets have to be filled in for the year - out goes the email. Yeah.

Do your school systems have a WHS officer/coordinator? Whilst ours were quite slow off the mark, they have been bringing the system up to compliance with the new WHS laws (including GHS) for the past 2.5 years now. I must say our states labbies have been looking at it for longer, but the powers that be are now on the ball.

It is extremely negligent of them (both legally and professionally) not to be all over it.

Our WHS committee would have no idea!! They never inspect the chem store or look at my SDS collection. One of the science teachers is the chair and she has no idea. I look after our chemicals but I have no idea who looks after the rest of the school. I figure its not my problem as long as I have the Science dept covered.