In November 2022, the East African Standards Committee (EASC)  released a Draft East African Standard (DEAS 1114:2022) that specifies the requirements, sampling, and test methods for insecticidal aerosols. This draft aims to categorize a standard for insecticides and pesticides as per ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards. The Draft Standard covers the following countries in East Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda.

In keeping with the standards, the insecticidal aerosol needs to fulfill the following requirements:

• The final formulation of the insecticidal aerosol will be in solution or emulsion form of insecticides with the required number of propellants, deodorants, and other ingredients.
• The aerosol must be a non-staining and light-colored liquid without any obnoxious odor while spraying.
• The essential active ingredients will be pyrethrin or artificial pyrethroids with low mammalian toxicity with some other effective pest management product with low residual impact and without unacceptable risks posed to mammals subjected to non-stop inhalation of that product.
• The active ingredient used in the aerosol must be approved by the responsible national authority.

• All the active components used for formulation must be compatible, and the solvents or other diluents shall be inert.

• The insecticidal aerosol must not contain CFCs (chlorofluorocarbon).

Specific Requirements for insecticidal aerosol shall abide by obligations stipulated in Tables 1 and 2 when tested by the method prescribed therein. Annex A to F can be found in the DEAS 1114:2022.

Table 1: Biological efficacy of insecticidal aerosol

 Table 2: Other specific requirements for Insecticidal aerosol

The active ingredient content shall be declared on the labels and comply with the tolerance limits in Table 3.

Table 3 — Tolerance limits

The insecticidal aerosols must be packed in closed containers for quality protection. The nozzle of the aerosol

 must be packed in the following way:  

1. 1. 1. Protected against puncturing/activation with a cap or seal manufactured from a suitable material that does not react with the product
      2. Hermetically sealed at the bottom
      3. Equipped with a discharge button or spray cap
      4. The materials used for the valve and button shall be inert.

While labeling aerosol each package shall be decipherable and indelibly labeled in English or other official languages. The name of the product must be mentioned as “insecticidal aerosol” with all proper indications like “used for flying insects or crawling insects”. Other basic information like the name,  common name of active ingredients with their percentage, manufacturer name, net content, batch number, and other essential details should be properly mentioned on the label. Special indications like safety signs and hazard pictograms, and flammability categories must be indicated. Before moving into the market, the insecticidal aerosol must complete all the quality checks.

South Africa has adopted a modified version of the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classifying and labeling chemicals in its industrial sector.

The Regulation comes into force on 29 September 2022. Companies have 18 months to meet the new requirements. From September 2022 onwards, manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals will be required to comply with the requisites silhouetted in the Regulation of Hazardous Chemical agents (RHCA)

On 29 March 2021, the Department of Labor published a regulation that is part of South Africa's umbrella legislation on worker safety—the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1995. The update to this law comes as its twentieth-anniversary approaches.

The GHS establishes requirements for classifying and labeling chemicals, including providing safety data sheets (SDSs) to accompany each shipment of a chemical. However, it does not apply in cases where the hazardous properties are less than those classified under section 4 of Schedule 1

The UN Globally Harmonized System Revision 8, South Africa's firsthand regulation that oversees GHS, is the ground rule for the Regulation of Hazardous Chemical agents. This regulation aligns with the UN Globally Harmonized System Revision 8.

It also requires employers to:

• Train all employees on properly using hazardous chemicals and safety practices, comprehending conditioning them to understand GHS labels, signs, and SDSs.
• Furnish the applicable personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees
• Perform air monitoring to check for exposure to substances in the workplace, ensuring that they don't exceed a specified threshold.

The GHS only details requirements for the industrial sector. However, South African departments responsible for agriculture, transport, and consumer health have announced that they will also implement it in those areas.

Violating the regulation is an offense that can lead to imprisonment or fines.

Nonetheless, the regulation does not require the classification of certain types of hazardous materials:

• Explosives – all categories,
• Extremely toxic (oral, dermal contact, inhalation), category 5
• Skin irritation, category 3
• Eye damage/eye irritation, category 2B
• Hazardous to the aquatic environment short-term (acute), category 2 and 3
• Category 3 and category 4 substances that are dangerous to the environment if allowed to enter water supplies