Reprinted from the ACJ - March, 1993
I have to give credit for the idea for this month's article to one of our customers here at Johnson Manufacturing. You know who you are! I got a call requesting information about "This Material Safety Data Sheet." Only when he pronounced the last word, it rhymed with "hit."
I think that may be a universal feeling. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are a pain for manufacturers to produce and a pain for users to collect and utilize. The truth is they serve to protect you from harm and tell you what to do in an emergency. Let's try to keep a good attitude and shed some light on what is important when reading an MSDS.
By law (29CFR 1910.1200 to be exact), all producers of products containing chemicals deemed hazardous must supply MSDS, with the first shipment of product to a customer, when requested, or when the MSDS is updated. Users are required to collect MSDS for products they have in house and make them readily available to their workers.
In addition, anyone who distributes other companies' products must collect the MSDS and send out copies to their customers. So be a little leery of companies who won't cooperate when you ask them for an MSDS.
The MSDS must contain certain information to be legal. We will pop through the nine basic sections; they may not be in this order on all MSDS. We'll leave the self-explanatory stuff alone and expand a bit on the not so obvious sections.
• Section I gives the identity of the supplier and phone numbers for information, and in case of an emergency.
• Section II gives the hazardous ingredients and any limits on exposure to those chemicals. These limits may have been determined by the supplier, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) or OSHA. Only those limits set by OSHA are legally binding.
These levels are usually stated as Time Weighted Averages (TWA) or Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL). These are the exposure levels averaged over an eight-hour workday. The limit may also be stated as a Ceiling Concentration. That is the maximum level not to be exceeded at any time. Chemical concentrations in the product and cancer causing potential may be in this section as well.
• Section III gives the physical information on the product, such as melting point, specific gravity and the appearance and odor of the product (this may come in handy when you find an unlabeled can of something on your shelf).
• Section IV is concerned with fire protection. The flash point is the lowest temperature at which the substance releases enough vapor to ignite. The upper and lower explosive limits (UEL & LEL) give the range of vapor concentration, when mixed with air, that can explode. It's much like setting the gas/air ratio in a carburetor.
• Section V information relates to reactions of the product with other substances. Usually violent or runaway reactions are the concern. Keep in mind that the "other substances" could be as simple as air, heat or water.
• Section VI provides the health hazards. Routes of entry into the body are usually listed here. In my opinion, route of entry information is one of the most important parts of the MSDS. If you avoid allowing the chemical a pathway into your body, then the health hazards, both immediate and long-term, as well as the signs of exposure, will never occur and you won't have to concern yourself with the balance of this section which describes first aid procedures. A side note: Read the first aid stuff anyway just in case.
• Section VII states how to handle and store the product and what to do in the case of a leak or spill.
• Section VIII is called Special Protection and in most cases tells you what type of ventilation is suggested or required. It also tells you the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to use.
Glove type, proper respirator, eye protection and that sort of thing are listed here. It's a good section to read when a new product is put to use in the shop.
• Section IX is usually reserved for special information such as transportation, regulatory requirements and disposal information. EPA reporting information is sometimes listed here as well. Keep in mind that all regulations—state, federal and local—are massive and change by the minute. Use this section as a guide, not as the definitive word. Anything else the supplier wants to tell you and they couldn't fit in the other eight sections will find a home here.
The MSDS acts as a library of knowledge that the supplier has put together to help you protect yourself, your employees and your customers in the present and to prepare yourself for the future. The discussion above is certainly a simplistic treatment of the subject.
If you are starving for more detailed information there are plenty of sources. OSHA has booklets to help you, NARSA can be helpful and remember section I has the suppliers' phone number for information.
Perhaps if we all take a bit more interest in the MSDS, things like OSHA, regulations and compliance may not appear on our "favorite" list.
The above article was written by David M. Brown, Chief Engineer of Johnson Manufacturing Company, Inc. and is published by JOHNSON with the expressed approval of the National Automotive Radiator Service Association and the Automotive Cooling Journal. Other reproduction or distribution of this information is forbidden without the written consent of JOHNSON and NARSA/ACJ. All rights reserved.
JOHNSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY
114 Lost Grove Road / PO Box 96 / Princeton, Iowa 52768-0096
Phone 563-289-5123 or Fax 563-289-3825