Safety News

Safety Data Sheets (SDS) is an essential requirement to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. They are one of the most important documents a facility should have. They address the properties of each chemical that workers use, transport, and handle onsite, including ones that are utilized only occasionally. SDSs have a standardized, 16-section format that relays crucial information about a chemical. You’ll quickly and easily be able to find hazard classification, actions to take during accidental spills or releases, personal protective measures, precautions for handling, transporting, and storing the product safely, and more.

SDSs are generated by the supplier (either the manufacturer, importer, or distributor) of a chemical. The format must adhere to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Safety Data Sheets used to be known as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), until OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard formally aligned with GHS in 2012. As of June 1, 2015, all employers in the United States are required to have their labeling and communication programs updated to correspond with GHS standards. All MSDSs should have been replaced with the SDS uniform format.

It is important to comply with these regulations, as chemical safety in the workplace relies on communication and consistency. Chemicals have a wide range of toxicity; workers need to understand whether the products they’re handling may cause harm and what to do if an emergency occurs. The employer is responsible for training workers, keeping SDSs in an accessible location, and implementing a safety program that includes handling and storing toxic substances.

The Transition: MSDS to SDS

Although OSHA was established as an agency in 1970, the first requirement to provide chemical hazard information to employees wasn’t implemented until 1994. In the 1990s, the “Right to Know” concept became very important to the agency, as it had become clear that many workers were exposed to occupational risks that they had no knowledge of. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) became one of the original requirements under OSHA’s Right to Know rules. Starting in 1994, facilities had to have these sheets, which provided information about every chemical used during the facility’s operations.

While MSDSs were a big step forward for chemical safety, the guidelines for both the format and enforcement of this information were loosely defined. OSHA found that a chemical’s datasheet from two different facilities could look entirely different. There was often incomplete information, and what information there wasn’t standardized; for example, one facility would require their workers to don specific PPE before handling a chemical, while another facility didn’t require PPE for the chemical at all. Many chemically-related injuries could have been prevented if the sheets contained consistent information.

As OSHA aligned with GHS in 2012, they updated their chemical safety and communications standards. MSDS became SDS, and these informational sheets became fully standardized internationally. Although the MSDS format is now outdated, it did achieve the original goal of keeping workers more informed and provided a basis for the formation of Safety Data Sheets.

Who is Responsible for SDSs in the Workplace?

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard establishes two requirements for the generation and maintenance of Safety Data Sheets:

• Manufacturers, importers, and distributors of chemicals must prepare the Safety Data Sheet sent to customers. Each kind of chemical gets its own specific SDS, with every section of information filled out to a minimum as detailed in 29 CFR 1910.1200, Appendix D. This ensures it is classified correctly, and that hazards are effectively