The GHS Column Model as an aid to selecting substitute substances

Under the German Hazardous Substances Ordinance, firms are required to replace hazardous substances if possible with substances with a lower health risk. As an aid to the assessment of possible substitute substances, the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA) has developed the Column Model. On the basis of just a small amount of information on the products in question, substitute substances can be assessed with the aid of this table.

With the gradual transition from the existing classification and labelling system for hazardous substances to the Globally Harmonized System for classification and labelling (GHS), the Column Model also had to be changed over to the GHS. As the new risk classes concur only to a very limited extent with the existing hazard features and the classification boundaries have shifted for certain risk classes, a formal changeover of the Column Model to the GHS was only possible to a certain extent. The numerous new physical/chemical risk classes in particular made the partial reorganization of the Column Model necessary under the GHS.

Information on the GHS Column Model is contained in a leaflet available for download (November 2011).

In addition IFA offers the column model according to the former classification and labelling system.