Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
What is a Material Safety Data Sheet? When should it be provided? And… when should it be updated? What is the latest regulatory update?
A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is designed to provide essential information to users of chemicals. This information is necessary to help them protect human health and the environment.
Users of chemicals are companies or individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area who use a substance, as such or in a mixture, in their industrial or professional activities. Safety data sheets are intended for both workers who handle chemicals and those responsible for safety. The format of the safety data sheet is defined in the REACH Regulation (Annex II). It is divided into 16 sections.
When should it be provided?
SDSs must be provided when:
- The substance or mixture is classified as hazardous;
- The substance is persistent,bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB); or
- The substance is included in the Candidate List for authorisation under REACH for reasons other than those mentioned above.
Mixtures that are not classified as hazardous but contain specific concentrations of certain hazardous substances will also require a safety data sheet to be provided upon request. If a supplier updates a safety data sheet, they must provide an updated version of the SDS. The recipients will be all those to whom the substance or mixture has been supplied in the previous 12 months.
When should it be updated?
You must provide an update of the safety data sheet:
- As soon as new information becomes available that may affect risk management measures or new information on hazards;
- Once an authorisation has been granted or denied or when a restriction is imposed.
In any case, it is advisable to review the content of the safety data sheets at regular intervals, with a maximum of 2 years.
What is the latest update of the REACH Anex II?
The latest update to Annex II of the REACH Regulation is Regulation 2020/878, which came into force on 1 January 2021. This update includes information on:
- Endocrine disrupting properties: New criteria have been added for identifying substances with endocrine disrupting (ED) properties and the definitions of ED have been amended.
- Unique Formula Identifier (UFI): A new field has been introduced in section 3 of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the UFI. The UFI is a unique alphanumeric code that is assigned to each mixture to facilitate the identification of products in an emergency.
- Other amendments: Minor amendments have been made to Annex II, such as updating references to legislation and clarifying some requirements.
It is important that companies that manufacture, import or use chemicals are up to date with the latest changes to the REACH Regulation, and that they update their safety data sheets accordingly.
If you need to prepare or revise your Safety Data Sheets, contact us and we will help you.
Source: ECHA
