Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Explained
Last updated
September 2, 2009 10:17:12 AM PDT
Learn about the information a typical Material Safety Data Sheet must include.
A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) provides information about the hazards of a specific chemical or product. MSDSs vary in style and content, but all contain certain required information.
Material Safety Data Sheets must provide:
- The material's identity, including its chemical and common names
Example:
- Brand name: Clorox (TM)
- Chemical name: Sodium hypochlorite
- Common name: Bleach
- Hazardous ingredients, or any chemical which poses a health or physical hazard (even in parts as small as 1%)
Example:
- Ingredients exposure: Sodium hypochlorite
- Formula: NaOCl
- Percentage by weight: 5.25%
- Physical and chemical hazards and characteristics, such as stability, reactivity, flammability, explosiveness, corrosiveness, compatibility with other materials, and hazardous combustion or decomposition
Example:
- Stability: Stable
- Incompatibilities: strong acids, organic materials, finely powdered metals
- Hazardous combustion or decomposition products: Chlorine
- Hazardous polymerization: Will not occur
- Health hazards, or any potential physical injuries that handling the material without proper protective equipment may cause, including:
- Acute effects: Injuries which occur immediately, such as burns or unconsciousness
- Chronic effects: Injuries which occur from exposure over a period of time, such as allergic sensitization, skin problems, or respiratory disease
- Recognition of a material as a carcinogen or an agent capable of producing cancer, as listed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC), or National Toxicology Program (NTP). A cancer review may include both animal and human summaries.
- Exposure limits, primary routes of entry into the body, specific target organs likely to sustain damage, and medical problems that can be aggravated by exposure
Example:
- Airborne exposure limit: 8-hour time-weighted average
- Route: Ocular
- Symptoms of overexposure: Headaches and pressure sensation, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, and difficulty thinking
- Precautions for handling and storing and safety equipment such as protective gloves, eye protection, and monitoring equipment or detectors
- Emergency and first aid procedures dealing with topics such as inhalation, ingestion, and eye or skin contact.
Example:
- Skin contact: Wear respiratory protective mask and remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash contaminated skin with copious amounts of soap and water.
- Ingestion: Do not induce vomiting. First symptoms are likely to be gastrointestinal. Immediately administer Nerve Agent Antidote Kit.
- Inhalation: Hold breath until respiratory protective mask is donned. If severe signs of agent exposure appear, immediately administer all three Nerve Agent Antidote Kits.
- Specific fire-fighting information such as flammability limits, lower and upper explosive limits, and fire fighting procedures
- Procedures for cleanup of spills and leaks in both field and laboratory procedures
- Precautions for safe handling and use, including emergency showers and eyewash stations
- Identity of the organization responsible for creating the MSDS, date of issue, and emergency phone number
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