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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThis article explains the purpose of safety data sheets, what products require them, and who is responsible for providing them with chemical products. It also offers guidance on how employers should use safety data sheets. Finally, we\u2019ll look at a safety data sheet example, so you can see what one typically looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The topics covered in this article include the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Use the above links to jump to that section of the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (UK REACH) Regulations, manufacturers and suppliers of chemicals must provide safety data sheets (SDS), free of charge, with their products. This applies to almost all chemical products that are placed on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this information in the safety data sheet is produced by the manufacturer,<\/strong> and suppliers must provide the sheet with the product. As mentioned earlier, this is legally required under the UK REACH Regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n It\u2019s worth noting that safety data sheets were previously known as material safety data sheets (MSDS), but this name was changed to safety data sheets (SDS) in 2015. If you see them referred to as material safety data sheets anywhere, they are using the old name for safety data sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to Top<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A safety data sheet\u2019s purpose is to provide comprehensive safety guidance about the chemical product. All of this information will help guide employers in identifying how to suitably control the risks posed by the chemical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s crucial to note, however, that safety data sheets are not substitutes<\/strong> for risk assessments. Rather, they help to inform<\/strong> the assessment. This is because safety data sheets are not specific to a workplace and do not set out the controls needed for it. The circumstances of the premises, how the chemical is used, and other various factors all play a part in determining what controls are needed. The guidance in the safety data sheet should be used or adapted where relevant to these factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Safety data sheets can also assist in the employer\u2019s duty to provide workers with information, instruction, and training where necessary. Employers must inform workers of the risks posed by hazardous substances and what they are doing to control them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s go into more detail about the purpose of safety data sheets in the context of both employers and employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The employer, or competent person who has been delegated the duty of carrying out the risk assessment, needs to consider the important information in the safety data sheet alongside specific details of their organisation.<\/strong> This includes how the chemical will be used, where it\u2019ll be used, and who will use it in their business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, they should consult the information about how the chemical should be stored, then assess if there is a suitable location on their premises. Likewise, they should look at the hazards that the chemical poses, consider who will be using them, and then determine how to protect those people from the hazards. This may include engineering controls like local exhaust ventilation to remove fumes from the air, for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n The measures required after reviewing the safety data sheet depend on the specific circumstances of the business and how the product is used. This is why it\u2019s so important to not consider it a substitute for risk assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the information that is relevant to the particular use or production of the substance should be taken from the safety data sheet and added to the risk assessment. <\/strong>This will help to inform the control measures, safe systems of work, and instructions, training, and information provided to users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to Top<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n COSHH has specific requirements in relation to employers providing information, instruction, and training where necessary<\/strong> regarding hazardous substances. This will ensure that employees can fulfil their responsibility of properly using control measures and facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Safety data sheets can form part of the information, instruction, and training that the employer provides to their workers. However, it is not sufficient for employers to only provide a safety data sheet.<\/strong> The controls for all hazardous substances in the workplace must be clearly explained and all the information provided in an understandable format.<\/p>\n\n\n Guidance on COSHH states that employers could distil the information from safety data sheets to give to employees<\/strong>, so they can understand them in the context of the chemical substances they work with or around. This will ensure they receive the information that is relevant to them and is comprehensible. Otherwise, safety data sheets contain a lot of complex information that may make things more confusing for workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If employees do want to see safety data sheets, however, then they should receive access to them. In that case, the employer should ensure employees understand that safety data sheets are a part of the overall risk assessment, not a substitution, which must be followed first and foremost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to Top<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (UK REACH) Regulations state that safety data sheets are required if the product meets the following criteria:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n<\/div>\n UK Reach, Article 31<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Safety data sheets are therefore required for a very broad range of chemical products. Any chemical that presents a physical or health hazard requires one. In the context of business use, this means employers must receive a safety data sheet for any hazardous chemical products they purchase and that are involved in their business activities. <\/p>\n\n\n \u201cThe safety data sheet need not be supplied where hazardous substances or mixtures offered or sold to the general public are provided with sufficient information to enable users to take the necessary measures as regards the protection of human health, safety and the environment, unless requested by a downstream user or distributor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that the general public who purchase chemical products don\u2019t need to be supplied with a safety data sheet. However, the safety data sheet will still exist, and must be referred to by employers when the product will be used in a work context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also important to note that hazardous substances which are generated as part of work activities don\u2019t have safety data sheets,<\/strong> such as fumes created by welding or hazardous dust created by woodworking. Information about these, which are important to cover in the risk assessment, will therefore have to be sought from other sources. For example, from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance online or in the manufacturer instructions of equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to Top<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The ultimate responsibility of producing and making safety data sheets available rests with the manufacturer of the product.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They must also ensure that suppliers have access to these and can pass them onto employers. Suppliers must provide safety data sheets to employers who purchase the product. They can do so when they buy the product or on request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employers must refer to safety data sheets for their chemical products to help inform the risk assessment. As discussed in the previous section, they may also make the information from the safety data sheets available to employees by distilling the contents into all the relevant details they need to know, in a more comprehensible format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manufacturers and suppliers must update safety data sheets:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n<\/div>\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat is a Safety Data Sheet?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A safety data sheet provides important information about the chemical:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nWhat is the Purpose of a Safety Data Sheet?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Safety Data Sheets and Employers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Employer](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Employer-reading-safety-data-sheets-at-desk.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSafety Data Sheets and Employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nWhat Products Require a Safety Data Sheet?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe UK REACH Regulations also state that:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWho is Responsible for Providing Safety Data Sheets and When Are Safety Data Sheets Supplied?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What About Updating Safety Data Sheets?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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