What it means
A safety data sheet, or SDS, comes from the maker or supplier of a chemical product. It has a standard layout of sections that cover hazards, handling and storage, protective equipment, first aid, fire fighting and spill response.
SDS replaced the older name, material safety data sheet, or MSDS. Some people still use the old name when they search.
In the US, SDS requirements fall under the hazard communication rule, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200. Check the current rule. Your site keeps the sheets for the chemicals it uses and makes them available to the people who work with them.
Why it matters
When someone gets a splash in the eye, the crew needs the answer right now, not after a search. An SDS is where that answer lives. A sheet that nobody can find is as useless as one that doesn't exist.
What it looks like on a site
- A sheet is on hand for each chemical product used on site, in a binder, on a phone or in an app.
- Crews know where the sheets are and how to read the sections on hazards and first aid.
- New products get their sheet before the product shows up on site.
- Containers carry labels that match the sheet.
- Workers can get to the sheets offline, since a chemical shed may have no signal.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current rule and your own procedures. Back to the glossary