In this post, we will talk about the Safety Data Sheet under the Globally Harmonized System and its role in Hazard Communication. W’ll primarily go through the SDS section by section and learn about all the safety, health, and environmental information addressed by this important document, so that you can know where to find the specific information you need for any hazardous chemical product. You may download the complete training resource on Safety Data Sheet

So the main objective of this post is to describe the purpose of SDS in Hazard Communication.

By the end of this blog post, you will be able to:

• Understand the GHS and how it affects hazard communication in the workplace;
• Recognize how the SDS improves access to vital safety, health, and environmental information about chemicals used in the workplace; and
• Identify the 16 sections of the SDS and the information contained in each section.

How much do you know ?

Before we begin the session, let’s take a few minutes to see how much you already know about the GHS and the SDS. Decide whether each statement on the screen is true or false.

1. Under the GHS, OSHA will no longer regulate workplace hazardous chemicals. True or False?
2. The SDS contains less information than the old MSDS. True or False?
3. The SDS will help to create a safer work environment for you and your co-workers. True or False?
4. The SDS will be harder to understand than the MSDS. True or False?

So the answers are False, False, True and False!

If you did not get the right answers, don’t worry. You’ll learn all about these issues and a lot more in this post.

What is the GHS?

OSHA’s hazard communication standard, or HazCom, requires adequate communication of chemical hazards in the workplace to employees. Two key ways chemical hazards are communicated are through labels on chemical containers and the SDS (formerly MSDS). The MSDS has been an essential part of basic safety in the workplace for decades. But because of the global economy, a system is needed to standardize safety, health, and environmental information about substances so that people all over the world get the same hazard information. That system is called the GHS. 

• The GHS itself is not a regulation or a standard. OSHA will implement the GHS system through HazCom and continue to regulate chemical safety.
• The purpose of the GHS is to provide a universal approach to defining hazards, classifying substances, and communicating hazard information and protective measures to employers and employees throughout the United States and the world.
• Among the major changes created by the GHS are new labels and a uniform SDS, which will replace the old MSDS. Today, we’ll focus on the SDS. The new GHS labels will be the subject of an upcoming training session.
• Under the GHS, a “substance” is defined as a chemical element and its compounds in the natural state or obtained by any production process, including any additive necessary to preserve the stability of the product (and any impurities deriving from the process used, but excluding any solvent that may be separated without affecting the stability of the substance or changing its composition). “Mixtures” are defined as mixtures or solutions composed of two or more substances in which they do not react. 

What is a Safety Data Sheet?

A Safety Data Sheet is a document that contains information about a chemical such as the properties of the chemical; the physical, health, and environmental health hazards; protective measures; and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical and provide guidance for each such as the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), First aid procedures and Spill clean-up procedures

What is the Benefit of GHS and SDS?

The basic goal of hazard communication is to ensure that employers and employees are provided with adequate practical, reliable, and comprehensible information on the hazards in the workplace so that they can take effective preventive and protective measures for their health and safety. 

Implementation of the GHS and the use of the SDS are expected to:

• Create a safer work environment for you and your co-workers;
• Reduce workplace accidents and illnesses caused by workplace exposures in the United States and around the world;
• Provide consistent and simplified communications about substances and safe work practices;
• Create greater awareness of hazards, resulting in safer use of substances in the workplace;
• Make it easier and less costly to comply with hazard communication regulations; and
• Enhance the universal protection of human health and the environment.

What is the Difference Between SDS and MSDS?

The purpose of both the old MSDS and the SDS is the same—to provide safety and health information about chemicals to help prevent accidents and exposures. Primary differences between the two documents include how they’re organized, the information included, the degree of detail presented, and the number and content of sections.

• If you’ve been using MSDSs that follow the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, format, the SDS will look similar and contain basically the same information. You will, however, find some additional information and a few differences in where and how information is presented in the SDS.
• If you’re more familiar with the other MSDS formats, you’ll find greater differences when you consult the SDS. But the changes will be positive. The SDS will be no harder to work with and understand than the old MSDS, but it will give you access to more complete information about the chemicals you use. This means you’ll be able to work more safely and protect your health. 
• During this session you’ll learn all about the SDS, its 16 sections, and the information contained in each section. Let’s get started now and look at the first section of the SDS. 

What are the 16 Sections of an SDS?

Identification of Substance and Supplier

The first section of the SDS identifies the chemical or mixture as well as the manufacturer or distributor. The information you’ll find in this section includes:

• The product identifier used on the label and other means of identification;
• Recommended use of the chemical and restrictions on use;
• Information about the supplier of the chemical, including name, address, and phone number; and
• An emergency phone number for obtaining information about spills and other accidents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Properly identifying a product and its recommended uses is an important part of working safely with the chemical. Information about the supplier and an emergency number is critical, especially in the event of an accident involving the product.

Hazard Identification

The second section of the SDS identifies hazards of the chemical or mixture. This section includes the following information.

• The hazard classification of the chemical or mixture and any national or regional information is provided. Hazard classifications include physical hazards such as flammable or reactive, health hazards such as toxic or cancer-causing, and environmental hazards such as hazards posed to an aquatic environment.
• Signal word, including hazard and precautionary statements, are also given in this section. Hazard symbols may be provided graphically—for example, with a flame or a skull and crossbones symbol—or by name.
• Other hazards not otherwise classified.
• Any statements regarding mixtures consisting of ingredients of unknown toxicity.
• Think about how important it is to identify the hazards of the substances you work with. Consulting this section helps you understand the risks of knowing the hazards associated with the substances in the workplace.

Composition and Information on Ingredients

Information about chemical composition and ingredients is provided in Section 3.The section provides information relevant to both substances and mixtures. 

For substances, this information includes:

• Chemical name;
• Common name and synonyms; 
• Chemical Abstract Service, or CAS, number, and other unique identifiers; and
• Impurities and stabilizing additives that are themselves classified and that contribute to the classification of the substance.

For mixtures, the information provided in this section indicates the chemical name and concentration, or concentration ranges, of all ingredients that are classified as health hazards and that are present above their cutoff limits or present a health risk below their cutoff limits.

First Aid Measures

Like the old MSDS, the SDS addresses first aid for exposures. In Section 4, you will find:

• A description of necessary first-aid measures categorized, to the different routes of exposure—inhalation, skin and eye contact, and ingestion; 
• The most important symptoms and health effects, both acute and delayed; and
• The need for immediate medical attention and special treatment when required.

It’s important to know proper first aid for exposures. Whether it’s you or a co-worker who is exposed to a substance, quick, effective, on-the-spot treatment greatly increases the chance of a full recovery.

Firefighting Measures

Section 5 contains information about fighting fires caused by the substance. This section includes:

• Suitable and unsuitable extinguishing substances—for example, not using water on a substance that reacts with water;
• Specific hazards arising from the chemical—for example, nature of any hazardous vapors released when the chemical is heated, used, or burned; and
• Special personal protective equipment and precautions for firefighters.
• Do you know the proper procedure for reporting and responding to workplace fires, specifically to fires caused by substances that can create hazardous situations?

Accidental Release Measures

Section 6 tells you what to do in the event of an accidental release. For example, it outlines:

• Personal precautions and personal protective equipment;
• Emergency precautions;
• Environmental procedures; and 
• Methods and materials of containment and cleanup.

Do you know the procedure for reporting and responding to spills and releases?

Handling and Storage

In Section 7 you’ll learn about safe handling and storage requirements, including:

• Precautions for safe handling of the substance; and
• Conditions for safe storage, such as identifying incompatibilities and what substances need to be stored elsewhere.

Think about safe handling and storage requirements for the chemicals you work with. This section is the place to find the information you need to meet these requirements. If there is anything you don’t understand about proper handling or storage of a particular substance after consulting the SDS, talk to your supervisor.

Exposure Control and PPE

Section 8 is a very important section of the SDS because it instructs you on how to protect against harmful exposures.

• The section details control parameters, such as occupational exposure limit values. For example, here you’ll find the permissible exposure limit, or PEL, and the threshold limit value, or TLV. You’ll also find biological limit values, if applicable.
• In this section, you’ll also read about appropriate engineering controls such as ventilation and enclosed processes required when working with the substance, replacing a toxic substance with a less hazardous one, or limiting the amount of time a worker is exposed to a hazardous substance.
• Section 8 also discusses individual protection measures, such as required PPE.
• Think about the PPE you are required to wear in the workplace.

Physical and Chemical Properties

Section 9 includes the information about a substance’s physical and chemical properties, including such vital information as:

• Appearance—that is, the substance’s physical state—solid, liquid, gas, and color;
• Odor and odor threshold;
• pH, which tells you whether the chemical is an acid or base;
• Melting point and freezing point;
• Flash point;
• Evaporation rate;
• Flammability and upper and lower flammability or explosive limits; 
• Vapor pressure, vapor density, and relative density;
• Solubility; 
• Partition coefficient: noctanol/water
• Autoignition and decomposition temperature; and
• Viscosity.

Are you familiar with all these terms? You should be because the SDS is one of the foundations of Worker Right to Know.

Stability and Reactivity

In Section 10 you’ll learn about the substance’s stability and reactivity. These are two very important things to know. You need to know how a substance might become unstable or react with air, water, or other substances and thus become hazardous to you and your co-workers. 

In this section, you’ll read about:

• The chemical’s stability or reactivity;
• The possibility of hazardous reactions;
• Conditions to avoid—for example, static discharge, shock, or vibration;
• Incompatible materials that must be kept away from the substance; and
• Hazardous decomposition products.

Think about the importance of this section. What if you didn’t know the conditions under which a substance is stable or unstable? What if you didn’t know what might cause a hazardous reaction? You could be in grave danger

Toxicological Information

Section 11 contains a concise but complete and comprehensible description of the various health effects of the substance as well as the available data used to identify those effects, including: 

• Information on the likely routes of exposure—inhalation, ingestion, skin and eye contact;
• Symptoms related to the physical, chemical, and toxicological characteristics; 
• Immediate and delayed health effects and chronic health effects from short-and long-term exposure; 
• Numerical measures of toxicity; and
• Whether the chemical is listed in the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Report on Carcinogens or International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs, or by OSHA.

If you work with toxic substances, you want to know all there is to know about how to avoid exposures. This section will cover how to protect yourself from exposure to poisons.

Ecological Information

Section 12 contains information about how the substance could affect the environment. The section includes information about:

• Ecotoxicity, which is how the substance poisons aquatic and terrestrial environments;
• Persistence and degradability—in other words, how long the effects of the pollution may last;
• Bioaccumulative potential, which means the likelihood of a hazardous substance being taken into an organism, such as a human or other animal, and accumulating in the body;
• Mobility in soil, which identifies how far and wide the substance is likely to travel in the ground; and
• Other adverse effects such as hazards to the ozone layer.

Disposal Consideration

Section 13 describes waste residues and provides information about safe handling and methods of disposal of:

• Substances, and
• Contaminated packaging.

Think about the substances you work with and the proper procedures for disposing of these substances and of any contaminated materials.

Transport Information

Section 14 explains requirements for the safe transportation of the chemical. This section tells you:

• The United Nations, or UN, number for the chemical, and the UN shipping name;
• The transport hazard class or classes;
• The packing group, if applicable;
• Whether the substance is a marine pollutant; 
• Transport in bulk; and
• Special precautions a user needs to know or to comply with in connection with transport of the chemical either inside or outside of your workplace.

Regulatory Information

Section 15 contains information about the safety, health, and environmental regulations for specific substances.

and Others

Section 16 contains other relevant information, including date of information on preparation and revision of the SDS.

Key point to remember

Here are the main points to remember from this post on understanding the safety data sheet (SDS):

• It’s essential to your safety and health to have and know how to find complete and accurate information about the substances you work with.
• The SDS provides the information you need to prevent accidents and exposures that can be hazardous or toxic.
• Be sure to always consult the SDS for the substances you use on the job.

Download the complete training resource on Safety Data Sheet