Your Guide to SDS Authoring as a Supplier

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard requires:
In the USA, chemical manufacturers and importers to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers. OSHA has a guidebook online for manufacturers, importers and employers with detailed information.

Health Canada’s WHMIS requires:
Hazardous chemical suppliers (Importers/Distributors) to ensure appropriate classification of hazardous products and provide GHS labels and Safety Data sheets for those hazardous products.

In the USA, OSHA has issued a final rule that took effect on July 19, 2024, to update the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align primarily with the 7th revision of GHS. The updated standard will improve effectiveness by better informing employees about chemical hazards in the workplace. The final rule will also improve alignment with other federal agencies and Canada. Click for a side-by-side comparison of HCS 2012 to HCS 2024.

Canada has aligned WHMIS with GHS; current GHS revision 7 & 8. The most recent changes introduced in December 2022 are in force. Suppliers are granted a 3-year transition period (to December 15, 2025) to bring product classifications, safety data sheets and labels into compliance with the amendments.  Health Canada is the government body responsible for the overall WHMIS supplier-related laws. Note that WHMIS is also regulated in the workplace by the provinces, territories and federal (for federally regulated workplaces) governments under their occupational health and safety legislation. While these jurisdictions based their WHMIS regulations on a common model, small variations between jurisdictions may exist.

GHS is a global standard, and it has 3 major hazard groups: physical, health, and environmental. Canada and the USA only require physical and health as hazard groups. The use of the environmental hazard pictogram from the GHS is not prohibited. You may see this on SDSs, but it is not required as both countries have other regulatory acts for the environment.  Each hazard group includes hazard classes that have specific hazardous properties.

Physical hazards group: based on the physical or chemical properties of the product – such as flammability, reactivity, or corrosivity to metals. Health hazards group: based on the ability of the product to cause a health effect – such as eye irritation, respiratory sensitization (may cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled), or carcinogenicity (may cause cancer). Canada has a unique Health Hazard Symbol for Bio-Hazards.

There are slight nuances between both countries for hazard classes and subdivisions, and this reinforces the importance of using SDS Authoring services like Chemscape to author SDSs for your manufactured products.

The hazard classification process begins with collecting samples of your hazardous product. You need to obtain and provide representative samples for laboratories and conduct a proper analysis.

Best practices when choosing a lab for your hazardous product analysis:
‍1. Use an accredited, independent, off-site laboratory to do your analyses.  
2. Check to see if the lab has experience doing analyses on your type of hazardous product, including the industry and its regulations.  
3. Accreditation of the lab is important (i.e. NALA, SCC, ISO).
4. Someone from your company with knowledge of the substance & regulations should direct the laboratory in the analysis to conduct.  
5. The lab should advise on the capability and the limitations of the methods.
6. Analyses are conducted according to standardized procedures. (typically ASTM Standards, EPA, inline calibrated instruments)
7. A company representative should review the test methods and results before classifying the hazardous products.
8. Discrepancies with previous results may warrant further investigation.

The results from the laboratory data determines the hazard classification according to the UN GHS Purple book. SDS authors derive the hazard classification of a product on the following factors:

• Composition
• Physical and Chemical Properties
• Toxicological Information – either on the product as a whole or the components

When reviewing the information on a product an SDS author needs to consider current regulations relevant to classifications, restricted substances, occupational exposure limits (OELs). In addition, there are other sources of data that may come into play, such as physical, chemical, ecotoxicity and toxicity data, transportation classifications, and business information.

Chemical and physical properties drive the GHS Health and Physical Classifications for a hazardous product. Once the product has been classified, the remainder of the SDS hazard communication will support this GHS classification with further detail on handling, storage, spill response, and fire.

There can be unique regional/country specific requirements including which information is mandatory and optional for an SDS in Canada and the USA. At this point of the process translation into other languages such as English/French in Canada may be required. This is dependent on the predominant language used in the workplace.

It is a requirement to update the SDS when significant new information becomes available. As a hazardous product supplier, you should be continuously reviewing and updating your SDSs if changes to your product or the regulation occurs. You have a duty to communicate this to your customers with the most current SDS for the hazardous product. The significant new data must be provided separately until the update is complete. There is an exemption period for updating GHS compliant labels (and SDSs) when significant new data becomes available.

• A new chemical composition in the manufacturing of a product can introduce new hazards.
• Recent health studies could reveal increased hazards of a substance.
• Transportation and OHS regulations continuously change prompting SDS revisions for some products.
• Adoption of a new GHS revision standards can introduce new classifications.  

In the USA, manufacturers have 3 months to update the SDS and 6 months to update the label, from the date the information becomes available. In Canada, suppliers have 90 days to update the SDS and 180 days to update the label, from the date the new information becomes available. If there is a sale or importation of the product during that period, the new information including the date the changes became available, must be communicated to the purchaser or to the importer.

An SDS is not required to be provided with every shipment of the same hazardous product sold to the exact same customer, as long as they have received the most up to date SDS available for that hazardous product and are compliant.

Suppliers (or employers) who apply to withhold confidential business information (CBI) must continue to meet label and SDS requirements. These requirements include the details of any safety precautions workers need to take when using the product and the first aid treatment required in the case of chemical exposure. This approach balances the worker’s right to know with the industry’s right to protect CBI. For OSHA, more details can be found 29 CFR 1910.1200, Appendix D. WHMIS has more CBI information online.

1. True copy of a GHS label - A true copy of a GHS label in both official languages, unless the label is not required as a result of an exemption under the HPR (e.g., sale or importation of a bulk shipment or a hazardous product without packaging of any sort); and,
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‍2. True copy of an SDS - A true copy of a Safety Data Sheet in both official languages. If the supplier has obtained the hazardous product from another person, the supplier must prepare and maintain a document containing the following information:a. the name and address of the person from whom the supplier obtained the hazardous product;  b. the quantity of the hazardous product obtained; and, the month and year in which the supplier obtained it.
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‍3. Records of sales - A record of sales of the hazardous product should be kept:
a. locations at which sales took place (i.e., address of the supplier’s place of business); and,
b. time period the sales took place (i.e. January 1, 2019 to Dec 1, 2019), and, for each month in that period, the quantity sold during the month (i.e. January 2019 = 12 units; July 2019 = 123 tons; Oct 2019 = 2234 L).

If an inspector enters your workplace, they may request that the supplier provides a true copy of the hazardous product. The inspector will assess whether the GHS label and/or SDS for a hazardous product is compliant with the requirements of the HPA and/or the HPR.  
Suppliers need to prepare and maintain a true copy of a GHS label. Every supplier who sells or imports a hazardous product that is intended for use, handling or storage in a workplace in Canada shall prepare and maintain a document containing a true copy of a GHS label that represents the label that is affixed to, printed on or attached to the hazardous product or the container in which the hazardous product is packaged, when they sell or import the hazardous product.

This includes:
‍• Does the label and/or SDS comply with the document retention requirements of the HPA?
• Is the actual label that is affixed to, printed on or attached to the hazardous product or the container in which it is packaged in compliance with HPR requirements?

An inspector must be able to look at a “true copy” of a GHS label, that meets the following requirements:
‍• In colour  
• Legible  
• Clear
• Representative of the true size of the label.

As there are different revisions of the GHS being adopted by different countries, we see substances classified differently between jurisdictions. Differences in SDSs by country may be a result of one or more the below reasons:
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‍1. Toxicity data of hazardous substances is ever changing: Research is constantly evolving with new data being published daily on the effects of toxicity of certain substances like carcinogens on humans, animals, and the environment.
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‍2. Exposure scenarios can be difficult to predict: The SDS author often needs to work with the client to predict possible exposure scenarios. Data can often be lacking or absent.3. Exposure cut-offs can vary between countries: What may be considered non-hazardous in one country may have greater restrictions in another.
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‍4. Ingredients can be allowed for commerce in one country and not in another: In Canada, the Domestic Substance List contains approximately 23,000 substances approved for commercial use, import and manufacture. However, there are restrictions, particularly for environmental toxins.
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‍5. Concentration ranges differ between countries: Concentration ranges for ingredients can be used differently in different countries.
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‍6. Confidential Business information: CBI is withheld in the client’s best interest and there are different methods to do this according to country location.
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‍For all the above reasons, SDSs still differ significantly between countries. SDSs should still be updated on a routine basis to ensure current data is available. For suppliers, the SDSs must be accurate at the time of sale or import. It is a requirement to update the SDS when significant new information becomes available.

There are many options for Safety Data Sheet authoring on the market. Here are some red flags we see when examining SDSs written by low-cost providers and automated authoring programs. The results are poorly written SDSs that do not conform to GHS standards, provide inaccurate information and can even be GHS non-compliant.

An inexperienced and untrained SDS Author
Does your SDS Author have proper training, experience and credentials? Chemscape uses Registered SDS Authors, registered since 2013, which is the premier standard for this work.

The structure, presentation and required elements of the SDS do not conform to GHS Standards
With the implementation of GHS, there is greater structure than there used to be in WHMIS 1988.  Chemscape frequently observes short comings in the hazard classification, presentation of required elements and structure of the document.

An inexperienced and untrained SDS Author
Does your SDS Author have proper training, experience and credentials? Chemscape uses Registered SDS Authors, registered since 2013, which is the premier standard for this work.

Use of inaccurate hazard classification
This is a bit alarming but sometimes incorrect symbols can be used with the hazard classifications the author has listed.

Omission of precautionary statements
Chemscape developed a reference document which consolidated the official GHS Purple Book.  This reference document clearly identifies hazard classifications (not how to classify but what statements must be included after classification).  There is some latitude regarding Precautionary Statements based on professional opinion but to entirely exclude Statements these is wrong.

No Signal Word or Improper Placement
The signal word (Danger or Warning) needs to be displayed for the product as required according to the WHMIS Act and Regulation.

No contact information for SDS author
A reputable SDS author will put their business name and valid contact number on the SDS. If the SDS is ever used as evidence in a court of law, the author may be required to testify and provide records to justify their classification and sampling data.

The old MSDS was simply retitled as an SDS
Yes, it is true. Our data entry department attests to having seen companies swap out the old 9-section MSDS with a new title that says Safety Data Sheet, but no other changes have been made other than a new issue date.