Hazardous Materials

Questions and Answers

What is an MSDS?

A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a document that contains information on the potential hazards (health, fire, reactivity and environmental) and how to work safely with the chemical product. It contains information on the use, storage, handling and emergency procedures all related to the hazards of the material. An MSDS contains much more information about the material than merely the information on the label.

MSDSs are prepared by the supplier or manufacturer of the material. They are intended to provide information about hazards of product use, safe product use, what might happen if the recommendations are not followed, what to do if accidents occur, how to recognize symptoms of overexposure, and what to do if such incidents occur.

What does an MSDS look like?

The formats of MSDS's tend to vary, but they usually convey the same basic kinds of information. The OSHA HazCom standard specifies the *required* elements that must be on an MSDS among other important data. An MSDS contains the following information:

* Identity (name of substance)
* Physical Hazards (target organ)
* Health Hazards
* Routes of Body Entry
* Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL)
* Carcinogenic Factors (cancer causing)
* Safe-Handling Procedures
* Date of Sheet Preparation
* Control Measures (personal protective equipment)
* Emergency First Aid Procedures (emergency telephone number)
* Contact Information (for the preparer of the sheet)
* Special Instructions

How does LBCC keep MSDS's?

Currently Safety and Loss Prevention keeps both hard copies of each MSDS in a file cabinet and electronic copies of each MSDS. We use a software application named MSDSpro to track information about the MSDS's. In addition, each location with hazardous materials keeps a Hazardous Materials notebook with copies of the MSDS's for products used in that area.

We have migrated to a software application called MSDS Pro. This software is designed to allow the MSDS information to be available on each workstation.

How Do I Find MSDS information for a specific item?

If MSDS information is needed, proceed to any workstation computer on campus and open a web browser. Please follow these Directions.

1. In the address bar, type in msds and press Enter.
2. In the search bar, enter the name of the MSDS requested and press search.
3. If this does not bring up your MSDS, follow the following directions. Retype msds in the address bar of your web browser and view the Locations available.
4. Locate your location and proceed to sub-location or building.
5. Under this building location, locate your department after which the list of MSDS available should be seen.