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0.5: Safety Data Sheets

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    Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

    Chemical manufacturers are required by law to provide a Safety Data Sheet (or SDS) for each chemical. Prior to 2015, this document was called a Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS. Although your instructor or laboratory manual will always inform you of any hazards associated with the chemicals you will be using, you may view the SDS for any chemical you will use in the laboratory. You should be familiar with the location of the SDS file.

    The format of a Safety Data Sheet is standardized to contain 16 sections, each providing a specific type of information.

    Section

    Section Heading

    Information

    1

    Identification of the substance or mixture and of the supplier

    2

    Hazards identification

    3

    Composition/information on ingredients Substance/Mixture

    The CAS (Chemical Abstract Service) number is a unique identifier and is especially important when accessing computer databases.

    4

    First aid measures

    5

    Firefighting measures

    6

    Accidental release measures

    7

    Handling and storage

    This section gives advice on proper storage of the chemical.

    8

    Exposure controls/personal protection

    9

    Physical and chemical properties

    10

    Stability and reactivity

    These sections provide information about chemical incompatibilities and other chemical reaction dangers.

    11

    Toxicological information

    Common abbreviations used in this section are listed below. Normally chemical exposure involves a chemical entering your body through inhalation (breathing), eye contact, skin absorption, or orally (ingestion).

    HMN: Human

    IVN: Intravenous (in the blood stream)

    MUS: Mouse

    ORL: Oral

    SKN: Skin

    TCLo: Toxic concentration low

    TDLo: Toxic dose low

    LC50: Lethal Concentration 50; The concentration of a substance in air that can kill 50% of the test animals when administered as a single respiratory exposure

    LD50: The lethal dose that will cause death in 50% of the test subjects.

    12

    Ecological information (non mandatory)

    13

    Disposal considerations (non mandatory)

    14

    Transport information (non mandatory)

    15

    Regulatory information (non mandatory)

    16

    Other information including information on preparation and revision of the SDS

    To search for a SDS for a chemical, go to http://www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html


    0.5: Safety Data Sheets is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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