MSDS Will Help You Work Safely With Chemicals

A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a short technical report that provides you with the known hazards of a specific material. They are written by chemical manufacturers for chemicals they produce or import. The purpose of a MSDS is to provide written information for the safe use and handling of a particular chemical. They may be written in different forms, but all are required to give you the following basic information:

* Identification (chemical and physical)

* Hazardous Ingredients

* Physical and Chemical Characteristics

* Emergency Procedures

* First Aid or Medical Procedures

* Manufacturer's Name, Address and Phone Number

* Health Hazards

* Physical Hazards (fire and explosion data)

* Reactivity Data

* Personal Protection Data

* Spill and Leak Procedures

* Waste Disposal Methods

State and Federal laws require that each employer keep these MSDS available at the work site for any hazardous chemical that you work with. Check with your supervisor for the location of the MSDS file on your job. Be sure to read the MSDS prior to working with any unfamiliar chemical to inform yourself of any hazards, and then follow all the manufacturer's recommendations. A Hazardous Material is any substance which is potentially toxic, incompatible with other substances, corrosive, explosive, flammable or combustible, or poses unusual physical hazards under normal use conditions or emergencies. Look at the label on chemical containers. If you see words like FLAMMABLE, DANGER, COMBUSTIBLE, HAZARDOUS, POISON, CAUTION or WARNING, then you know a MSDS is required. The MSDS will help you work safely with chemicals, but only if you read it.

CHEMICALS + MISUSE = DANGER CHEMICALS + PRECAUTIONS = SAFETY