MSDS

Material Safety Data Sheets
Provided a summary of information needed to handle, store and use a product 
safely, and to deal with exposure, spills and other problems if they occur.
Mandated by Federal government under Worker Right to Know principle.
May be stricter in some states (California).

MSDS
Features:
	* Provides necessary info to handle safely
	* Must be supplied upon request
	* Standarized Formats
	* Divided into sections

Uses specific terms and definitions defined by OSHA

Info presented in specific order and format.
Actually two accepted formats:

OSHA and ANSI OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
ANSI: American National Standards Institute

SECTIONS:
	* What is it?
	* How can it hurt you?
	* What else can go wrong?
	* How do you prevent it?
	* What if something goes wrong?

Identification: What is it?
	* What is it called?
	* Who made it?
	* What is in it? What is it like?
	* Where can I find out more about it?

Health Hazards: How can it hurt you?
e.g. grain alcohol
	* What are the health hazards (and what do you do about them)?
		+ Acute Effects:  occur quickly on exposure
		+ Chronic Effects: build slowly over time
		+ Sensitization: causes an allergic reaction. May cause dermatitis 
              (skin reaction) or more serious respiratory effects.
		+ Carcinogens: unpredictable, no safe levels of exposure of a 
              industrial chemicals

Physical Hazards: What else can go wrong(and how can you prevent them)?
	* What are the physical dangers?
		+ Is it flammable, and how flammable?
		+ Anything bad happen when you use it?
		+ How does it react badly with other materials?

Prevention: What can you do about it?
	* How do you protect yourself?
		+ How do you use it properly?
		+ What conditions are safe and unsafe?
		+ What protective gear is needed?
		+ How do you store it?
		+ How do you dispose of it?

Treatment: What if something goes wrong?
	* First aid and treatment for exposure
	* How about accidental spills or release?

Info presented in specific order and format.
OSHA Format	ANSI Format
Identification

Section 1: Product and Manufacturer
Chemical Names, Trade Names, Chemical family
Manufacturer address
Emergency phone numbers
Section 2: Ingredients and Exposures
Hazardous Inredients for which standards have been set
Allowable exposure levels

Section 1. Chemical product and company identification Links the MSDS to 
the material. Identifies the supplier of the MSDS. Identifies a source for 
more information.

Section 2. Composition/information on ingredients
Lists the OSHA hazardous components May also list significant nonhazardous 
components. May also include additional information about components (e.g., 
exposure guidelines)

“Proprietary” listings: beware
TLV’s: Threshhold Value Limits
Tolerable, NOT “safe” levels of exposure
Developed by government hygenists

TLV-TWA: Time Weighted Average
8 hr./day; 40 hr./wk
TLV-STEL: Short Term Exposure Level
based on 15 min. exposure
TVL-C: Ceiling Limit
Never exceed, even a moment!

PEL: Permitted Exposure Level
Developed by OSHA based on TLV’s and other industry standards

Enforced by OSHA
TLV’s are NOT
Characteristics

Section 3: Physical/Chemical Charcteristics

Section 9. Physical and chemical properties (osha 3)
Additional data to help characterize material and to design 
safe work practices.
Appearance: what it looks like under "normal" conditions.
Boiling, melting, freezing points
Vapor pressure: how dense vapors get above the liquid in a 
closed container, expressed as a percentage of air.
Vapor density: how much the vapor weighs compared to the same 
amount of air.
Specific Gravity: how heavy it is compared to an equal VOLUME 
of water (s.g. of 1). SG over 1 is heavier than water, less than 
1 is ligher than water.
Evaporation rate: how fast it evaporates compared to a common 
industrial solvent, either ether or byutl
etc.
Health hazards and treatment

Section 6: Hazardous Health Data
How it gets in the body
What damage it does there.

Section 3. Hazards identification, inc. emergency overview  (osha 6)
Emergency overview.
Potential adverse human health effects.
Symptoms from use and misuse of material.

Section 4. First aid measures (osha 6 & 9)
Instructions for accidental exposure requiring immediate treatment.
Instructions to medical professionals.

Section 11. Toxicological information (osha 6)
Provides background toxicological information on the material, 
its compounds, or both.
Physical hazards and precautions

Section 4: Fire and Explosion data
How flammable it is.

Flash point: lowest ignition temp in presence if ignition source
Flammability and Explosive limits: what is too lean or too rich 
to burn.  Everything in between burns!

Section 5: Reactivity Data
Stability
Conditions and materials to avoid
Decomposition products
        (only under specific conditions!)
Hazardous polimerization-large molecules from small ones (plastic, 
etc.)

Section 5. Fire fighting measures (osha 4) Basic fire fighting 
guidance, including appropriate extinguishing media.
Other fire and explosive properties useful to avoid and fight fires 
involving material.
E.g. flash point or explosive limits.

Section 10. Stability and reactivity (osha 5)
Describes conditions to be avoided or other materials that may cause 
a reaction changing intrinsic stability of material.
Prevention & Treatment

Section 7: Safe handling and Use
How to avoid dangerous problems
How to treat a spill or leak
How to safely dispose of product

Section 8: Control measures
How to protect yourself from exposure
Required safety equipment
Masks, gloves, clothing required
Type of respirators that may be required
Required cleanup proceedures after work

WARNING: “Normal” Conditions ONLY!

Section 9: Special Precautions
Any other pertinent information not already covered, such as:
Transportation
Disposal
Label informtion

Section 6. Accidental release measures (osha 7)
Actions to minimize adverse effects of accidental spill, leak or release 
of material.

Section 7. Handling and storage (osha 7)
Information on safe handling and storage.

Section 8. Exposure controls/personal protection  (osha 8)
Practices, equipment, or both, useful in minimizing worker exposure.
Exposure guidelines.
Guidance on personal protective equipment.

Section 12. Ecological information (osha 7)
Provides information on effects of material on plants, animals and on the 
material's environmental fate.

Section 13. Disposal considerations (osha 9)
Information useful in determining appropriate disposal measures.

Section 14. Transport information (osha 9)
Basic shipping classification information.
Specific transportation labels if required.

Section 15. Regulatory information (osha 9)
Any additional information on regulations affecting the material.

Section 16. Other information (osha 9)
May be used to provide any additional information.