Guideline: Creating labels for chemicals

Purpose

To set out the guidelines for creating chemical labels at the University

Labelling of chemicals is mandatory as described in the Work Health & Safety Regulations 2011 and the Code of practise for Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals.
Labelling chemicals at the ANU follows the ANU chemical policy and procedure.
How to create labels for chemicals using Chemwatch/Chemgold III:

Login in to Chemwatch
Enter the respective chemical name in the search box (Name/Cas No) and click Go
Select and click the respective chemical (MSDS will appear)
Click on Labels on left hand side tool bar and select User Templates
Choose the appropriate size label according to your container. L6009_48 signifies that the Avery product code is L6009 and it contains 48 labels per sheet. The ESP codes for Avery style sheets for internal purchasing are also shown in the Table 1 below. Choose your label according to the guidelines below:

Table 1 Labels for Hazardous Chemicals

Label Name	Use	ESP codes for Avery style sheets	ESP codes for rolls	Label Size
Chemical Management procedure	For containers 500mL plus or equivalent	917696 2 labels per sheet#	917700 100 labels/roll	190 x 145mm
	For containers of 500mL or equivalent	917695 4 labels per sheet#	917699 100 labels/roll	100 x 140mm
	For containers of 50mL and less than 500mL or equivalent	917694 14 labels per sheet#	917693 100 labels/roll	100 x 40mm
	For containers of 10mL to 50mL or equivalent	917692 21 labels per sheet#	917697 100 labels/roll	64 x 37mm
	For containers of 5mL to 10mL or equivalent	917691 48 labels per sheet*	917698 100 labels/roll	46 x 21mm

Note: Each order comes in 100 sheets per pack

# Quickpeel labels (Datapol)

* Durable heavy duty labels (Avery)

Table 2 Label Templates for Non-Hazardous Chemicals

Use	Labels per sheet	Label Size
For containers 500mL plus or equivalent	2 labels per sheet	190 x 145mm
For containers of 500mL or equivalent	4 labels per sheet	100 x 140mm
For containers of 50mL and less than 500mL or equivalent	14 labels per sheet	100 x 40mm
For containers of 10mL to 50mL or equivalent	21 labels per sheet	64 x 37mm
For containers of 5mL to 10mL or equivalent	48 labels per sheet	46 x 21mm

Note: For containers of 5mL or less e.g. eppendorf tubes group and label the secondary container.

Place your chosen label sheet in the Bypass/manual feed tray on the respective printer
Click Print, then Printer Setup, then Choose Printer. Select Bypass tray. Then click on Properties and choose colour (If no print button appears, right click on the image and select print).
Click Print. The label should then print out on the respective printer/photocopier. Apply the label to the container.
To print another label, click Back on the top of the label window, and repeat steps b to i.

Purchase a prefilled template (roll) of the desired dimensions (see table above) from your internal store.
Fill out necessary information such as hazard and precautionary statements by hand from the relevant MSDS using Chemgold III.
Apply the relevant DG goods symbol to the label template. DG goods symbols can be purchased from your internal store or through companies like Seton.
If the chemical is a non-hazardous chemical then use the appropriate size label and write/add to the label the prefix ‘Non’ which signifies a ‘ Non-hazardous chemical’.
Apply the label to the container.

Purchase a pre-filled template (roll) of the desired dimensions (see table above) from your internal store.
A research chemical or sample for analysis must be correctly classified and the identity of the substance or mixture must be determined.
Fill in the product identifier of a research chemical or sample for analysis such as the actual name of the chemical, a recognised abbreviation or acronym if any, a chemical formula, structure or reaction components.
Where a research chemical or sample for analysis cannot be identified this should be indicated clearly on the label.
Labels for research chemicals or samples for analysis should include as much hazard information as possible, based on the identity and the known or suspected hazards.
If the chemical is a non-hazardous chemical then use the appropriate size label and write/add to the label the prefix ‘Non’ which signifies a ‘ Non-hazardous chemical’.
Apply the label to the container.

Use the appropriate size pre-filled template (roll), fill out necessary information including product name and chemical constituents.
Write/add to the label the prefix ‘Non’ which signifies a ‘Non-hazardous chemical’.
Alternatively, select one of the templates on table 2 of desired size and print out template onto the blank label sheet of corresponding size as outlined in Section 3 steps f to h.
Fill in the printed label with all necessary information including the chemical name and all the chemical constituents of that chemical.

Information	Printable version (PDF)
Title	Creating labels for chemicals
Document Type	Guideline
Document Number	ANUP_004605
Version
Purpose	A guideline on creating labels for the storage and management of chemicals at ANU.
Audience	Staff
Category	Administrative
Topic/ SubTopic	Health, Safety & Environment - Occupational Health & Safety

Effective Date	14 Nov 2023
Next Review Date	13 Nov 2028

Responsible Officer:	Chief People Officer
Approved By:	Chief People Officer
Contact Area	Safety and Wellbeing
Authority:	Work Health & Safety Act 2011
Delegations	0
Information generated and received by ANU staff in the course of conducting business on behalf of ANU is a record and should be captured by an authorised recordkeeping system. To learn more about University records and recordkeeping practice at ANU, see ANU recordkeeping and Policy: Records and archives management.