Safety Data Sheets: Challenges for Authors, Expectations for End-Users

Abstract

Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are a primary tool for chemical hazard communication. The creation and maintenance of product SDSs (and the corresponding labels) is a significant cost center for chemical manufacturers, distributors, and importers. SDS management is also a significant focal point for regulators. There are many complaints about SDS content, ranging from missing or incomplete information, erroneous information to the cost of creating or maintaining SDSs. The rapidly evolving global chemical regulatory environment places a burden on the chemical manufacturer of staying current with regulations as well as hazards. The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) was designed to make the globalization of hazard communication easier for the chemical user. It has but certainly not completely. GHS has complicated the creation and management of SDSs for the chemical manufacturer in many ways. This article will examine these areas, including the development and use of machine-created SDSs using global safety and regulatory data, and provide the perspective of a chemical manufacturer and SDS author.