Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are important documents to ensure and maintain Safety.
Introduction to Material Safety Data Sheets
A material safety data sheet (MSDS) is a written document that provides product users with the information needed for handling chemicals. MSDSs have been around in one form or another, since the time of the ancient Egyptians.
Safety Data Sheet formats may vary between countries, however, an international MSDS format is available as ANSI standard Z400.1-1993). They generally outline the physical and chemical properties of the product and describe potential hazards associated with the substance (health, storage cautions, flammability, radioactivity, reactivity, etc.). This safety format prescribes emergency actions and often includes manufacturer identification, address, date, and emergency phone numbers.
Uses of MSDS
A Safety Data Sheet provides information about the proper storage of a substance, first aid, spill response, safe disposal, toxicity, flammability, and additional useful material. MSDSs are not only limited to reagents used for chemistry. However, those are provided for most substances, including common household products such as cleaners, gasoline, pesticides, certain foods, drugs, and office and school supplies. MSDS provides precautions to take for potentially dangerous products; seemingly safe products may be found to contain unforeseen hazards.
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Material Safety Data Sheets availability
In many countries, employers are required to maintain Material Safety Data Sheets for their workers so a good place to locate MSDSs is on the job. Also, some products are intended for consumer use or sold with Safety Data Sheet enclosed. College and university chemistry departments will maintain Datasheets on many chemicals. However, if you are reading this article online then you have easy access to thousands of “MSDSs” via the internet.
There are links to Safety Data Sheets databases from this site. Many companies have Material Safety Data Sheets for their products available online via their websites. Since the point of an MSDS is to make hazard information available to consumers and since copyrights don’t tend to apply to restrict distribution, MSDS are widely available. Certain MSDSs, such as those for drugs, may be more difficult to obtain but are still available upon request.
To locate Material Safety Data Sheets for a product you will need to know its name. Alternate names for chemicals are often provided on the datasheet, but there is no standardized naming of substances.
The chemical name or specific name is used most often to find MSDSs or health effects and productive measures. IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) conversations are used more often than common names.
List of contents in MSDS
- The molecular formula may use to locate a chemical of known composition.
- You can usually search for substances using its CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) registry number. Different chemicals may have the same name, but each will have its own CAS number.
- Sometimes the easiest way to locate a product is to search by manufacturer.
- Products may find using their US Defense Department NSN. A National Supply Number is a four-digit FSC class code number plus a nine-digit National Item Identification Number or NIIN.
- A trade name or product name is the brand, commercial, or marketing name the manufacturer gives the product. It does not specify what chemicals are in the product or whether the product is a mixture of chemicals or a single chemical.
- A generic name or chemical family name describes a group of chemicals with related physical and chemical properties. Sometimes an MSDS will list only the generic name of a product, although in most countries laws require that chemical names also be listed
How to use Material Safety Data Sheet
A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) might appear to be intimidating and technical, but the information is not intended to be difficult to understand. You might simply scan a Material Safety Data Sheets to see if any warnings or hazards are delineated. If the content is difficult to understand there are online MSDS glossaries to help define any unfamiliar words and often contact information for further explanations. Ideally, you would read a Safety Data Sheet before obtaining a product so that you could prepare proper storage and handling.
More often, Material Safety Data Sheets are read after a product is purchased. In this case, you can scan the MSDSs for any safety precautions, health effects, storage cautions, or disposal instructions. It often lists symptoms that might indicate exposure to the product. An MSDS is an excellent resource to consult when a product has been spilled or a person has been exposed to the product (ingested, inhaled, or spilled on the skin). The instructions on a Data Sheet do not replace those of a healthcare professional, but can be helpful in emergency situations.
When consulting Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), keep in mind that few substances are pure forms of molecules, so the content of an MSDS will depend on the manufacturer. In other words, two MSDSs for the same chemical may contain different information, depending on the impurities of the substance or the method used in its preparation.
Hope, this article provides useful and never before information!
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