Basic document for the prevention of chemical risks

The safety data sheet (SDS) is the basic document requested by the authorities and users of chemicals to prevent chemical risks.
A safety data sheet must accompany all chemical products when they are sold on the market, so that the end user can clearly identify the health risks for people, the environment and transport.

In order to produce the safety data sheet, the chemical contents of the product must be considered, as well as the many national and EU regulations that are must be included in writing it.

The supplier of a substance or preparation must provide a safety data sheet to the recipient of the substance or preparation, that follows the format described in the REACH regulation for:

• A substance or preparation that meets the classification criteria as a dangerous substance or preparation in accordance with Directives 67/548/CE or 1999/45/CE; or
• A persistent , bioaccumulable and toxic or very persistent and very bioaccumulable substance, in accordance with the criteria stated in Appendix XIII; or
• A substance included in the list established in accordance with Article 59, Paragraph 1, for reasons other than those mentioned above.
  
  
  

A guide for writing safety data sheets, excerpted from REACH Regulation 1907/2006, defines the requirements regarding the information that must appear on the SDS, consisting of 16 paragraphs:

1- Identification of the substance/preparation and the company/business

2- Identification of the dangers

3- Contents/information on the components

4- First aid

5- Fire prevention measures

6- Measures to be taken in case of accidental dispersion

7- Handling and storage

8- Exposure control/personal protection

9- Physical and chemical properties

10- Stability and reactivity

11- Toxicology information

12- Ecological information

13- Elimination considerations

14- Transport considerations

15- Regulatory information

16- Other information

The safety data sheet must be provided in the official language of the member state in which the substance or preparation is sold on the market.

Challenges for Formulators

• Be compliant with European Directives (and their various adaptations) on labelling for dangerous preparations and writing the safety data sheets.
  
  
• Manage various changes that require modifications of the SDS:
  - Industrial changes (modification of the formula or raw materials)
  - Regulatory changes (modifications made to directive)
  
  
• Establish a regulatory monitoring system
  
  

• Send all professional clients an updated SDS
  
  
• Be informed of SDS updates for raw materials

Write the safety data sheets

The dangerous substances contained in the formulation and the characteristics and intended uses of the preparation are essential for determining the danger label for the preparation (symbols, “Contains,” R and S phrases) and writing the SDS to reflect this.

It is based on the suppliers’ SDSs for the raw materials contained in the preparation that these dangerous substances can be identified (Paragraph 3 and 15).

The SDS is written to include at least:

• The danger label
• The characteristics and intended use of the product
• The physical and chemical properties of the product