What Is a Safety Data Sheet?

OSHA says its Hazard Communication Standard requires chemical manufacturers, distributors and importers to provide safety data sheets, formerly called material safety data sheets or MSDSs, for each hazardous chemical to downstream users, in a consistent, user-friendly 16-section format. Under the rule, manufacturers and importers must obtain or develop an SDS for each hazardous chemical they produce or import, and employers must have one in the workplace for each hazardous chemical they use.

The sections come in a fixed order, from identification, hazards, composition and first aid through fire-fighting, accidental release, handling and storage, exposure controls, physical and chemical properties, stability and reactivity, and toxicological information, to ecology, disposal, transport, regulatory and other information. OSHA's SDS QuickCard says Section 1 includes the product identifier, the manufacturer or distributor's name, address and phone number and an emergency phone number, Section 2 covers the chemical's hazards and required label elements, and Section 3 lists ingredients. Section 8 lists exposure limits such as OSHA permissible exposure limits along with engineering controls and protective equipment, and Section 11 covers routes of exposure, symptoms, acute and chronic effects and numerical measures of toxicity. OSHA says sections 12 through 15 must be included for consistency with the GHS, but it does not enforce them because those areas are not under its jurisdiction.

OSHA says employers must keep SDSs readily accessible to employees, for example in a binder or on computers with a backup available, and that an employer without an SDS should contact the manufacturer to get one. In a 2021 interpretation letter, OSHA said the rule exempts consumer products used at work for the purpose intended when exposure is no greater than what consumers could reasonably experience.

The rule's latest update is phasing in. The current standard requires manufacturers, importers and distributors evaluating substances to comply with all modified provisions by May 19, 2026, and those evaluating mixtures by November 19, 2027, and requires employers to update workplace labeling, hazard communication programs and training for substances by November 20, 2026.