01/18/1995 - The need for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)

Interactive Learning Paradigms, Incorporated

	The Home page of ILPI's Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Resource, the leader in SDS information since 1995!
	The history and philosophy behind this resource.
	A curated collection of books and reference materials concerning Safety Data Sheets and closely related topics.
	Paste your plain text SDS into the SDS-Demystifier, and it will be converted into a hypertext-enriched document with links to detailed explanations of each key term.
	An extensive list of frequently asked questions about Safety Data Sheets including regulations, content, compliance, and more.
	A humorous take on Safety Data Sheet jargon. Fill in the blanks on our entry form to generate a personalized Unsafety Data Sheet to share with your coworkers.
	Since 1995, we've maintained this massive curated list of the best places to find Safety Data Sheets on the Internet.
	Way more than a glossary, this hypertext-enhanced resource covers hundreds of SDS-related terms and expert knowledge. Each entry includes both the SDS relevance and links to additional authoritative resources.
	Archived results of Safety Data Sheet related polls taken by some of our millions of site visitors
	You are here! The OSHA regulations behind SDS regulations, including the inspection guidelines and over 400 official interpretations letters under the Hazard Communication Standard
	Commercial suppliers of SDS authoring and management software as well as cloud compliance services.
	Commercial companies that will create SDS's for your specific needs as well as SDS translation companies.

Safety signs, banners, and scoreboards? Get yours at Safety Emporium!

XXXPrevNext

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.
It should also be noted that MSDSs are only required for hazardous chemicals and only to be sent with their initial shipment and with the first shipment after a MSDS is updated. In practice, MSDSs are prepared and provided for many products that are not covered by the HCS. It is our understanding that this is being done for product liability purposes, not for compliance with any Federal regulation. In fact, MSDSs were prepared and made available by many producers prior to implementation of regulatory requirements. In addition, many customers request MSDSs on all products, whether they are hazardous or not.

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

This hypermarked and content-enhanced page is copyright by ILPI, all rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication or posting on other web sites is expressly prohibited. For questions, comments and concerns, please contact us at our SDS email address.

The original official public domain version of this document is available from OSHA at XXXOSHAURL.