MSDS and You

A Material Safety Data Sheet provides a summary of basic information on a material or chemical. It is the starting point for any health and safety training, as it pertains to a specific material or chemical. The Material Safety Data Sheet, or MSDS, was created with the expressed intention of providing the end user of a certain material or chemical substance with information about the potential hazards, advice for safe usage, and emergency procedures.

Material Safety Data Sheets, although generally intended for use by end users, are also used to provide information to individuals other than supervisors and workers. They are also used by doctors, firefighters, nurses, health and safety coordinators, engineers, and environmental professionals. The Material Safety Data Sheets provide information about three main types of hazards; health, fire, and chemical reactivity.

A health hazard is one in which the health of the individual could be adversely affected by direct contact with the material or chemical. For example, contact with the chemical in question could cause severe burns. Fire hazards are those in which the material is extremely flammable, as in the case of propane or gasoline. Reactivity hazards are somewhat more complicated, and are very much dependant upon the exposure of one material or chemical to another. An example of this would be the mixing of two chemicals that would produce a toxic gas.

While there has been significant effort put into establishing an internationally accepted standard for material safety data, there are some slight variations in the forms from country to country. One such example is the way certain technical terms are understood in a specific region. For example, a reproductive toxin has a different definition in Canada compared to the United States. Although there is some variance in the technical terms used from region to region, Material Safety Data Sheets provide some important and useful information.

These forms all contain basic information about the properties of a certain material or chemical. The information contained on these forms is divided into distinct sections, with each section summarizing a different set of considerations for the user. For people involved in health and safety, these forms should be studied vigorously. Material Safety Data Sheets provide you with the information you need to save somebody's life. Use it wisely, and always keep health and safety foremost in your thoughts.