A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) (formally MSDS) is designed to provide emergency response personnel and users of hazardous materials with the proper procedures for handling or working with a particular substance. The SDS is produced by the manufacturer of the chemical, and includes information on the health and physical hazards associated with the material and provides detailed information regarding its physical properties, reactivity, and toxicity. It also details first aid, storage, disposal, exposure control, and spill/leak procedures. These are of particular use if there is a spill or a person has accidental contact with the material.
SDS vary widely in how they appear - but the content remains the same - regardless. Below are sample SDS.
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are basically brief informative fact sheets on specific hazardous substances.
They are a "component of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard. This regulation, announced in August 1987, requires employers to provide information to employees about hazardous chemicals used in the workplace through MSDS, proper labels, and training programs” (Van Camp, p. 97). The regulation covers private, public, industry, and non-industry uses by any employee of any chemical that may have potentially harmful effects.
Every purchase of a potentially harmful chemical is required to be accompanied by an SDS for that chemical. Purchasers are required to keep copies of the SDS on hand for their employees to consult. “It must be located close to workers, and readily available to them during each workshift” (Marsick, p. 280).
"MSDS's include information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill/leak procedures. MSDS's vary in length depending on their format, content, and font size. We have seen them from 1 to 10 pages, with most being 2 to 4 pages." (taken from http://www.ilpi.com/msds/faq/parta.html#whatis)
No single SDS collection can be considered to be comprehensive and each covers a varying number of substances. Many of the less common substances may not be found in smaller SDS collections. Data is continually being produced on effects of particular substances and some collections contain outdated material or are revised less often and some SDS are more complete than others.
Marsick, Daniel J. “Resources for Hazard Communication Compliance.” IN Information Resources in Toxicology, 2nd edition, Philip Wexler (ed.),
Van Camp, Ann J. “Material Safety Data Sheets: Online and CD-ROM Sources.” Online, v. 14, no. 2 (March 1990): pp. 97-99.
"Making sense of a safety data sheet," https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2016/11/01/Making-Sense-of-a-Safety-Data-Sheet.aspx
Thanks to Lorrie Pellack of Iowa State University for the use of her guide on SDS.