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Title: 01/18/1995 - The need for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs). | |
Record Type: Interpretation | Standard Number: 1910.1200 |
January 18, 1995
The Honorable Daniel R. Inouye
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Inouye:
This is in further response to your letter of September 29, on behalf of your constituent, Dr. Charles T. Campbell, concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). Dr. Campbell questioned the need for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), which are required to be developed and distributed under the HCS. Please accept my apology for the delay in this response.
Employers and employees need the information contained on MSDSs to protect themselves from hazardous chemical exposures and to work safely with chemical products. The result will be a reduction in chemical source illness and injuries in the workplace. Since the HCS became effective, the use and distribution of MSDSs have proven to be an effective and efficient way to ensure that employers and employees can obtain necessary information on the hazards associated with exposure to chemicals in the workplace. MSDSs are specified by section 1910.1200(g) of the HCS (enclosed). The MSDS lists the hazardous ingredients of a product, its physical and chemical characteristics (e.g. flammability, explosive properties), its effect on human health, the chemicals with which it can adversely react, handling precautions, the types of measures that can be used to control exposure, emergency and first aid procedures, and methods to contain a spill. When new regulatory information, such as exposure limits, or new health effects information becomes available, the MSDS must be updated to reflect it. | Mark the locations of your MSDS's and training materials with signs from Safety Emporium. |
This practice has also encouraged producers to provide MSDSs for non-hazardous products. While OSHA does not require or encourage this practice, we certainly do not have the authority to prohibit producers from distributing such MSDSs.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact OSHA's Office of Health Compliance Assistance at (202) 219-8036 if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Dear
Assistant Secretary
The official, public domain, OSHA version of this document is available at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=21676&p_text_version=FALSE