Safety data sheets

[ch 7: pages 143-144]

Safety data sheets provide information on chemical products to help users of those chemicals make a risk assessment. They describe the hazards of the chemical present, and give information on handling, storage and emergency measures in case of accident.

By law, under the UK REACH regulations (see page 142), suppliers of chemicals must provide an up-to-date safety data sheet if a substance is dangerous.

The HSE cautions that a safety data sheet is not a risk assessment. Employers should use the information it contains to help make their own assessment.

A safety data sheet should be made up of the following 16 sections:

• identification of the substance/mixture and of the company/undertaking;

• identification of the hazards;

• composition or information about the ingredients;

• first-aid measures;

• firefighting measures;

• accidental release measures;

• handling and storage;

• exposure controls or personal protection;

• physical and chemical properties;

• stability and reactivity;

• toxicological information;

• ecological information;

• disposal considerations;

• transport information;

• regulatory information; and

• other information.

Guidance on how to compile a REACH-compliant safety data sheet is given in ECHA European Chemicals Agency guidance. The HSE says that although the document is for EU REACH, “it remains largely relevant but must be considered in a GB-only context”.