About Safety Data Sheets

About Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

A Safety data sheet (SDS) is the document used by suppliers to communicate essential information down through the supply chain thereby promoting the safe use of their chemical substances and mixtures.

SDSs contain information about the properties of the chemical-based product (substance or mixture), its hazards and instructions for safe handling, disposal and transport as well as first-aid, fire-fighting and exposure control measures. This information can be found in the main body of the safety data sheet (or in the case of substances within the EU in the annexed exposure scenarios).

Safety Data Sheets Under CLP

Within the EU, the requirements for the compilation of the safety data sheets are specified in Annex II of the REACH regulation.

A supplier of a chemical product MUST provide a safety data sheet to a customer if:

• The substance or mixture is classified as hazardous under CLP.
• Any substance in the product is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB), as defined in REACH (Annex XIII), or
• Is included in the candidate list of substances of very high concern.

Under certain conditions, described in Article 31(3) of the REACH regulation, some mixtures, which do not meet the criteria for classification as dangerous or hazardous, also require a safety data sheet.

Certain situations require the update and re-issue of the safety data sheet:

• as soon as new hazard information or information that may affect the risk management measures becomes available
• once an authorisation under REACH has been granted or refused
• once a restriction under REACH has been imposed

When any of the above three situations apply, suppliers must provide updated safety data sheets to all former recipients supplied within the past 12 months.