Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are legally required to be supplied to the buyer or user of every hazardous material or mixture sold.
They list, in a standardised format, the elements contained within a product. They also include data related to the standard tests carried out on the hazardous components by the companies that have manufactured and registered them.
The standardisation was introduced as part of the REACH regulations which govern how toxicological and environmental data should be used to determine hazard classification.
In theory SDS are only required when the goods concerned are classed as hazardous generally because they contain a hazardous component above a certain level of concentration. However, these days it is becoming increasingly necessary to produce one in order to declare that the product is entirely non-hazardous. Without it, how is the customer to assure their own customer and subsequent consumers that the goods are non-hazardous?
As Yorkshire’s premier agro-chemical and general chemical contract manufacturer and packer, Grotech Production Ltd has extensive experience in writing SDS from first principles. Key factors to take into consideration are:
- SDS should be written in the language of the country where the product is being sold.
- A poison centre telephone number for that country should be included.
- The SDS should specify the purpose of the product – a new requirement recently brought in by the REACH regulations.
- The hazard classification should be declared in Section Three of the SDS. It should also appear in the mandatory section of the label showing warning pictograms, hazard statements and precautionary statements.
At Grotech we can arrange for SDS to be translated into whatever language required and work closely with legislative experts to ensure we keep up to date with correct interpretation of the required data.
If you would like us to advise upon or write your Safety Data Sheet please contact our Helpful Manufacturing People
