ANSI Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) Labeling

CSB Chairman Carolyn Merritt Says Fatalities and Injuries Are Being Caused by Deficiencies in Communication of Workplace Hazards, Calls for Improvements in Material Safety Data Sheets

For more information, go to: MSDS - OSHA Site

All employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must have labels and MSDSs for their exposed workers, and train them to handle the chemicals appropriately.

Washington, DC, March 25, 2004 - Carolyn Merritt, Chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today told a Congressional committee that the safety information accompanying chemical products delivered to industrial plants frequently is deficient, leading to avoidable deaths and injuries. She made her remarks in written testimony delivered to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Safety and Training, which is holding hearings on the safety information, called Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDSs.

Ms. Merritt said, "Deficiencies in hazard communication and Material Safety Data Sheets are among the common causes of major chemical accidents that result in loss of life, serious injures, and damage to property and the environment."

Chairman Merritt cited data and root cause findings from the 19 investigations CSB has conducted since becoming operational in 1998. Deficiencies in communicating hazards on the data sheets were cited in ten of the 19 reports. The deficiencies were found to be an actual root cause, contributing cause, or major causal factor in nine of the ten.

"These nine accidents were responsible for the deaths of 12 workers and injuries to 79 other workers, emergency responders, and members of the public. These totals will likely increase as additional investigations are completed," she said.

The Material Safety Data Sheets are required in the Hazard Communication Standard promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) creates voluntary standards on preparing precautionary labels and developing the language for MSDSs.

Training DVD/VHS:

MSDS ANSI Material Safety Data Sheet Safety Training Courses

NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

Contains an analysis of all pertinent data, rather it presents key information and data in abbreviated or tabular form for chemicals or substance groupings (e.g. cyanides, fluorides, manganese compounds) that are found in the work environment.  

The Pocket Guide includes the following:

• Chemical names, synonyms, trade names, conversion factors, CAS, RTECS, and DOT numbers
• NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits (NIOSH RELs)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
• NIOSH Immediate Dangerous to Life and Health values (NIOSH IDLHs) (documentation for those values)
• A physical description of the agent with chemical and physical properties
• Measurement methods
• Personal protection and sanitation recommendations
• Respirator recommendations
• Information on health hazards including route, symptoms, first aid and target organ information.

Online MSDS Database

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR1910.1200 Hazard Communication Standard, information regarding the manufacturer, chemical identity, hazards, appropriate personal protective equipment, emergency procedures and other information must be provided to employees for hazardous chemicals they may encounter in the workplace.

A Guide To Your Material Safety Data Sheet

Material Safety Data Sheets – MSDS – are chemical information sheets. They give basic information about a product’s content, potential hazards and physical characteristics as well as providing information necessary to allow the product to be used safely.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires manufacturers or distributors of hazardous materials to assess the physical and health hazards of chemicals or products and provide that information in a MSDS. The MSDS must be forwarded to the purchaser with the initial shipment of each product free of charge. MSDS are not required to have a specific format but must contain the same basic information.