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MSDS- National and International Requirements

There are numerous national and international standards for MSDS formats, worldwide. The
prime objective of these standards and guidelines is to guarantee consistency and integration in
the methods of decimation of information in relation to safety, health and environmental
matters for chemical products.

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), the Canadian program, is federally
controlled by Health Canada under the Hazardous Products Act, Part II and the Controlled Products
Regulations and metes out the requirements of MSDSs in every workplace. The provincial Ministries or
Departments of Labour have also established the WHMIS and MSDS requirements.

In EU, an integrated system of hazard codes and phrases, also known as Risk and Safety Statements, is
used to mark dangerous chemicals and compounds. A Risk and Safety Statement of a compund entails a
risk part (R) and safety part (S), each preceding a group of numbers. Each number, again, stands for a
phrase. In response to the GHS’s (Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of
Chemicals) attempts at harmonising classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals, the hazard and
precautionary statements will shortly replace the risk and safety statements. Each label and safety data
sheet for hazardous chemicals is marked by a symbol.

Germany

According to the mandates of Germany’s Federal Water Management Act, substances must be
evaluated in the light of the risks they pose to the physical, chemical or biological characteristics
of water. These are assigned to specific numeric water hazard classes-

 Non-water polluting substance belongs to the WGK nwg category

 Slightly water polluting substance belongs to the WGK 1 category
 Water polluting substance belongs to the WGK 2 category
 Highly water polluting substance belongs to the WGK 3 category

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The Netherlands

Dutch Safety Data Sheets, colloquially known as veiligheidsinformatieblad

nl:Veiligheidsinformatieblador Chemiekaarten, is an aggregate of Safety Data Sheets of the
most commonly used chemicals. The Dutch often use the word “milieu” for “material”, in their
material safety data sheets since milieu stands for environment in their culture. The safety data
sheets, in Netherlands, contain comprehensive information on safety as well as environmental
issues.

The Chemiekaarten boek, although commercially available, can also be accessed via the
websites of educational institutions.

United Kingdom

In the UK, the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002,
commonly known as CHIP Regulations, mandated the enforcement of substantial duties upon
suppliers and importer of hazardous materials into the EU. Besides, the country’s COSHH
Regulations (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) oversee and assess the use of
hazardous materials in the premises of offices and factories. According to Regulation 12, every
employee, who is in direct contact with hazardous materials, should be endowed with sufficient
information, instructions and trainings by their employers, so that they can successfully ward
off danger, in the event of a disaster. This will be practically impossible without a data sheet
and hence, obtaining a data sheet from the supplier of a particular substance is of supreme
importance, to any employer.

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United States

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, under the Hazard Communication
regulation, have mandated the availability of MSDS to every employee, who is exposed to
potentially harmful substances at work. Under section 311 of the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act, local fire departments as well as emergency workers must be
furnished with MSDSs of products that they essentially handle. Each chemical is represented by
a unique CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Numbers) number, defined by theAmerican
Chemical Society.

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