In the 1960’s, an American author by the name of Robert A. Heinlein wrote a science fiction story about a man born and raised on Mars, but as an adult comes to Earth. The title of the novel is “Stranger in a Strange Land”. The plot focuses on the main character adapting and understanding humans – their language, laws and culture.
How does this connect with ICC Compliance Center, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and labels one might ask? Consider this scenario: a US chemical with its SDS and label end up in a Chinese chemical plant or a Romanian factory. Can the workers in either of those places read it? Can it be understood? Are the workers aware of the hazards or dangers of the chemical? Are these workers safe when using this US chemical?
By using ICC Compliance Center, companies now have the capability to translate an entire SDS or label into any of 40 languages. Granted using a third-party is a possibility for translating specific words and phrases, but that can be expensive given how long SDS documents and labels are under the new GHS regulations. ICC Compliance Center is different, because we allow for flexibility when translating. Since we work per SDS document we’re likely a lower cost than other companies.
One also has to remember the regulations and what they have to say about languages. In the ECHA Guidance document version 2.1 from February 2014 there is the following statement: “The SDS must be supplied in an official language of the Member State(s) where the substance or mixture is placed on the market….” This same information can be found in REACH Article 31(5). HazCom 2012 even has within the Regulatory text that “manufacturer or importer preparing the safety data sheet shall ensure that it is in English”. It should be noted some countries within the EU have more than one official language.
Here are the languages ICC Compliance Center offers:
| Arabic Bulgarian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czechoslovakian Danish Dutch English Estonian Filipino |
Finnish French (Canada) French (EU) German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese |
Korean Latvian Lithuanian Malaysian Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovakian |
Slovenian Spanish Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese |
We only need two things from you. The first is a SDS written in English and compliant with the other country’s regulations and the other is languages for which you need it translated.
So rather than being a “Stranger in a Strange Land”, call ICC Compliance Center for a quote and information on how to get started.
ICC provides a full range of comprehensive and compliant SDS services. To learn more or get a quote, click here or call one of our customer relations centers today: 888-442-9628 in the US or 888-977-4834 in Canada.
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