Guide to Safety Data Sheet Basics

‍The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is a document that helps you identify hazardous materials and gives you full details on the hazards. SDSs provide more detailed hazard information about the product than the label. They also provide instructions on how to work safely with the hazardous product by breaking down the steps you need to take if there is an emergency.

You should be familiar with the hazards of a product before you start to use it. Ensure the product name on the container exactly matches the SDS.

Here are some basic questions you need to be able to answer before you work safely with a product:
1. What is this product? (section 1: Product Identification)
2. What are the hazards? (section 2: Hazard Identification)
3. How do I work with this safely? (section 7: Handling and Storage)
4. What do I do in an emergency? (section 4, 5, and 6: First Aid, Fire Fighting Measures, and Accidental Release Measures)

In the USA and Canada, employers are required to make sure that all chemical or hazardous products have an up-to-date SDS when it enters the workplace. The SDSs must be readily available to the workers who are exposed to the chemical or hazardous product, and to the health and safety committee or representative. If a product arrives in the workplace without an SDS, the product needs to be quarantined until an SDS is located and made available.

Employers may computerize the SDS information as long as:
• all employees have access to and are trained on how to use the computer or device,
• the computers/devices are kept in working order, and
• the employer makes a hard copy of the SDS available to the employee or health and safety committee/representative upon request.

If the employer is aware of significant new information, the employer must add this information to the existing SDS. In the USA, refer to the OSHA Haz Com laws for your state as some states may have requirements that exceed federal standards.

In Canada, the requirement for the employer to update or obtain updated SDSs in the workplace is regulated by your jurisdiction - federal/provincial/territory WHMIS guidelines.

In general, it is the chemical manufacturers / suppliers’ responsibility to update the SDS whenever there is new information regarding the hazards of a chemical product or when there are significant changes to the safety information.

For the USA you would refer to the OSHA Haz Com laws for your state as some states may have requirements that exceed federal standards.

In Canada, the requirement for the employer to update or obtain updated SDSs in the workplace is regulated by your jurisdiction - federal/provincial/territory WHMIS guidelines.

Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec: the SDS must be updated within 90 days when significant new information becomes available.

Federal workplaces, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon: the employer must actively seek an updated SDS every three years.

Nova Scotia: WHMIS 1988 requirements apply for an update every 3 years.  

Best practice is for worksites to do an annual chemical inventory check to ensure their SDS library is up to date and current.

Safety Data Sheets are mandatory for hazardous products. A "hazardous product" that is intended for use, handling or storage in a workplace in the USA or Canada must have an SDS.

If a product arrives at the worksite without an SDS it needs to be quarantined until an SDS is obtained for the product from the supplier/manufacturer.

Consumer products like WD-40 frequently purchase at a local hardware store may not be legislated to have an SDS but that does not mean the product is not hazardous and one may be available through the supplier. You may work with a product differently in the workplace then you do at home, and this can affect the risk of the hazardous product and justify the availability of having an SDS on hand.

Manufacturers and suppliers of a hazardous chemical need to author a Safety Data Sheet for their product and make them available to customers. The SDS should accompany the product at the time of sale. If a product has been imported from another country the distributor may be required to author a safety data sheet. Check with the local federal regulatory body in your country.  Most SDSs are prepared by the manufacturer or supplier of the product. You can check the manufacturer’s website or contact them to get SDSs as needed. Chemscape offer this service to clients to ensure their employees always have current SDSs.

The SDS posts a date of last revision in section 16 – other information. You will know if an SDS was updated by checking this date and comparing it to the previous you have on file. Suppliers do not need to contact customers with an updated SDS for past purchases of a hazardous product. Chemscape routinely checks with chemical suppliers for SDS updates and lists the last date checked for audit purposes.

The information on an SDS is broken out into 16 sections. Each section has a unique purpose and content.

SDS Section 1: Product Identification
‍The information in this section must be an exact match to the identification section on the supplier label. Here you will find the name of the product, the name of the manufacturer, the name of the supplier, plus their address and emergency phone numbers. In section 1 you will also find recommended uses and restrictions on use.

SDS Section 2: Hazard Identification
‍The information in this section is similar to what you find on a supplier label. Here you will find the hazard pictograms as well as the signal word ‘Danger’ or ‘Warning’ for the product.  Danger represents a higher hazard than ‘Warning’. It also contains the hazard statements and the precautionary statements.

SDS Section 3: Composition / Information on Ingredients
‍This section gives details on the composition of the product and information on the ingredients. Chemical products can contain multiple ingredients. Section 3 names them and tells you the concentrations of each hazardous ingredient. It also lists the CAS Number for each of the ingredients. These numbers are used to research chemical properties. If there are any trade secrets for the product they will be listed here.

SDS Section 4: First Aid Measures
‍This section provides first aid measures for exposure to the product. You will learn what steps to take depending on how the person came into contact with the product. For example, was it inhaled or swallowed? Section 4 also lists symptoms of overexposure.

SDS Section 5: Fire Fighting Measures
‍This section is typically used by firefighters and emergency planners. It outlines appropriate firefighting techniques, the type of fire extinguishing materials that should be used in a fire, as well as the chemical hazards from the fire. Section 5 also outlines the type of protective equipment and any special precautions firefighters should take.

SDS Section 6: Accidental Release Measures
‍This section addresses accidental release measures such as the proper methods of containment and cleanup for a spill; what emergency procedure you should follow if you need to eliminate ignition sources; and the type of protective equipment required during cleanup.

SDS Section 7: Handling and Storage
‍This section gives instructions for safe handling and storage of the product. It identifies any incompatible materials.

SDS Section 8: Exposure Controls and Personal Protection
‍This section deals with exposure controls and personal protection for the product. It describes what PPE is needed to work safely with the product, as well as the engineering controls needed for safe use. Section 8 also gives you applicable exposure limits for the product; limits can vary by federal or provincial/state regulations.

SDS Section 9: Physical and Chemical Properties
‍This section provides engineers, scientists and regulatory authorities with the complete technical description of the physical and chemical properties of the product. Is it a solid, liquid or gas? What is the colour? Does it have an odour? What is the boiling point, freezing point and flash point for the product? Is there an explosion potential for the product?

SDS Section 10: Stability and Reactivity
‍This section provides stability and reactivity details for the product. Is the product chemically stable? What materials could it react with that it should be kept away from? Does the product decompose into other hazardous products? What other conditions should be avoided?

SDS Section 11: Toxicological Information
‍This section is written for health professionals, describing short-term and long-term health effects. It explains how the product can enter your body, eyes, skin, ingestion and inhalation. It will tell you which internal organs are at risk if you use the product. It will tell you if the product can cause cancer and if it is toxic to reproductive systems, or if the product can lead to chronic long term respiratory or skin issues.

SDS Section 12: Ecological Information
‍This section tells you if the product is toxic to the air, soil or water. It will also tell you if the product is a short-term or long-term threat to the environment.

SDS Section 13: Disposal Considerations
‍This section tells you how to dispose of the product and its container. It describes any product residues and outlines any special handling procedures.

SDS Section 14: Transport Information
‍This section details how to ship the product safely. Regulatory information will be listed such as the UN Number for the product, the Proper Shipping Name, as well as the Transportation Hazard Classes. This will help you determine what hazard placards need to be displayed during transport. Any special transportation provisions will be listed such as packing group and bulk transport details.

SDS Section 15: Regulatory Information
‍This section lists any regulatory information for the product. If there are any additional local, provincial/state or federal regulations for health, safety, or the environment, it may be listed here.

SDS Section 16: Other Information
‍This section tells you who prepared the SDS and when it was written. It may include a glossary to explain any abbreviations in the SDS. It can also include other references and disclaimers.  

SDSs are usually written by the manufacturer, supplier, or importer of the product. In some cases, the employer writes the SDS but only if the product is produced and used exclusively in the same workplace. An SDS is a guide for many different people who may use the product. This can be for supervisors and workers, firefighters, physicians, occupational hygienists, health & safety supervisors, engineers and environmental specialists. Chemscape offers SDS authoring software and services if you require help writing an SDS for your manufactured product.

A change in the chemical composition of the product can warrant an update to the SDS with more hazards. Recent health studies can change the hazardous level of a product. Transportation and OHS regulations constantly change and can warrant a change to the SDS. Adoption of updated GHS standards can prompt a change to classification.

SDSs can be removed and/or archived if the hazardous products is no longer being used and it has been disposed of. SDSs can then be archived and removed from the active SDS binder.

SDSs can be removed from the active inventory but records should be archived for 30 years. SDS files are considered employee exposure records. Even when a chemical is no longer in use, the SDS should be archived/maintained for 30 years.