Preparing, reviewing and amending safety data sheets An SDS must be prepared and written to provide accurate information about: the hazards of a chemical how to handle the chemical safely, including its storage and disposal the chemical's physical and chemical properties, and potential first aid and emergency response measures. The SDS should also contain information about effects it may have on the environment. What information is needed in an SDS? WHS Regulations Schedule 7(1) Safety data sheets A safety data sheet must: be in English contain unit measures expressed in Australian legal units of measurement under the National Measurement Act 1960 (Cwlth) state the date it was last reviewed, or if it has not been reviewed, the date it was prepared state the name, Australian address and business telephone number of the manufacturer or the importer, and state an Australian business telephone number from which information about the chemical can be obtained in an emergency. The language used in an SDS should be simple, clear and precise, avoiding jargon, acronyms and abbreviations. Vague and misleading expressions should not be used. Phrases such as be health under most conditions of ‘may dangerous’, ‘no effects’, ‘safe use’ and are also not recommended. It may be that information on certain properties is ‘harmless’ of no significance or that it is technically impossible to provide detailed information, and if so, the reasons for this should be clearly stated under each heading. If it is stated that a particular hazard does not exist, the SDS should clearly differentiate between cases where no information is available to the classifier and cases where negative test results are available. Other units of measurement, including the International System of Units (SI) or non-SI units may be used if they are in wide use in Australia. For example, mm Hg for vapour pressure or degrees Celsius (°C) rather than Kelvin (K) for temperature can be used. An SDS should include a version number, superseded date or some other indication of what version is replaced. There is no limit in relation to the length of the document, but it should be proportionate to the hazard level of the chemical and the available information.
Preparing, reviewing and amending safety data sheets An SDS must be prepared and written to provide accurate information about: the hazards of a chemical how to handle the chemical safely, including its storage and disposal the chemical's physical and chemical properties, and potential first aid and emergency response measures. The SDS should also contain information about effects it may have on the environment. What information is needed in an SDS? WHS Regulations Schedule 7(1) Safety data sheets A safety data sheet must: be in English contain unit measures expressed in Australian legal units of measurement under the National Measurement Act 1960 (Cwlth) state the date it was last reviewed, or if it has not been reviewed, the date it was prepared state the name, Australian address and business telephone number of the manufacturer or the importer, and state an Australian business telephone number from which information about the chemical can be obtained in an emergency. The language used in an SDS should be simple, clear and precise, avoiding jargon, acronyms and abbreviations. Vague and misleading expressions should not be used. Phrases such as ‘may be dangerous’, ‘no health effects’, ‘safe under most conditions of use’ and ‘harmless’ are also not recommended. It may be that information on certain properties is of no significance or that it is technically impossible to provide detailed information, and if so, the reasons for this should be clearly stated under each heading. If it is stated that a particular hazard does not exist, the SDS should clearly differentiate between cases where no information is available to the classifier and cases where negative test results are available. Other units of measurement, including the International System of Units (SI) or non-SI units may be used if they are in wide use in Australia. For example, mm Hg for vapour pressure or degrees Celsius (°C) rather than Kelvin (K) for temperature can be used. An SDS should include a version number, superseded date or some other indication of what version is replaced. There is no limit in relation to the length of the document, but it should be proportionate to the hazard level of the chemical and the available information.
Preparation-of-Safety-Data-Sheets-for-Hazardous-Chemicals-May-2018.docx