What is a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)?
A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a fact sheet developed by manufacturers describing the chemical properties of a product. Material Safety Data Sheets include brand-specific information such as physical data (solid, liquid, color, melting point, flash point, etc.), health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, handling, disposal, personal protection and spill/leak procedures. As required by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the target audience for information in a MSDS is the occupation worker who may be exposed to chemicals at work. However, much of the information is also relevant to consumers.
The most reliable resource for toxicity and hazard information is a product’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). The Federal Government has recognized that humans have a right to be protected from toxic and hazardous materials in their homes and places of work. State and local governments may impose additional regulations, but the Federal Standard sets the basic requirements.
The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) Your client may have been exposed to a harmful chemical in the workplace. Or, your client may have been exposed at home to a dangerous amount of caustic substance in a consumer product. Information to guide or augment discovery is readily available about potentially harmful chemicals in industrial and retail consumer settings. This information is given in a document called a material safety data sheet. The material safety data sheet can provide a wealth of information and data for discovery purposes. This article discusses the material safety data sheet with respect to the kinds of information and data it does and does not contain, the accuracy and completeness of its data and guidance, where they can be obtained, and typical applications of the information in litigation. What is a material safety data sheet? According to OSHA more than 32 million workers are exposed to approximately 650,000 hazardous chemical products. Federal and state laws have
A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is official documentation of the properties of a given substance recorded on a form for easy viewing. The purpose of the MSDS is to provide workers, consumers, and safety personnel with thorough information on potentially hazardous chemicals or components in a particular substance or product. The information contained on a MSDS includes physical data, storage, handling and disposal. Variations of MSDS forms can be found in several countries. Though the sheet can provide consumers with specific information on a product’s potentially harmful effects or contents, the MSDS is primarily designed to be of use to those who work with a substance or treat those who have been injured by accidental exposure or misuse of a product. Material Safety Data Sheets are widely used and make cataloging information on chemicals easier and more efficient. Any workplace that uses a chemical-based product must have MSDS information accessible to its workers. Similarly, any
