Creation and maintenance of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

The safety data sheet (SDS) is an important communication tool for providing information on the hazards and risks of substances and substance mixtures. The core of the SDS is the classification and labeling, which is specified in chapter 2. The Global Harmonized System (GHS) was developed to standardize the classification and labelling of chemical substances and substance mixtures with regard to their health, environmental and physico-chemical hazards and is implemented in Europe by the CLP Regulation (EC) 1272/2008. The requirements for the SDS are regulated in Article 31 and Annex II of the REACh Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 and the amending Regulation (EU) 2020/878.

The obligation to prepare a safety data sheet exists if one of the following criteria applies:

• Classification of the substance/mixture of substances as hazardous according to CLP Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008.
• the substance is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) or the substance mixture (non-gaseous) contains such a substance with ≥ 0.1 %.
• the substance has endocrine disrupting or endocrine disrupting properties or the mixture of substances (non-gaseous) contains such a substance with ≥ 0.1 %.
• the mixture of substances contains at least one substance that is hazardous to health or the environment with an individual concentration of ≥ 1% (non-gaseous) or ≥ 0.2% (gaseous)
• the mixture (non-gaseous) contains a category 2 carcinogen, a category 1A, 1B or 2 reprotoxic substance, a category 1 or 1B skin sensitizer, a category 1 or 1B inhalation sensitizer or a substance with effects on or via lactation of ≥ 0.1%.
• the mixture of substances (non-gaseous) contains a category 1A skin sensitizer or a category 1A inhalation sensitizer of ≥ 0.01%.
• Community workplace exposure limits are available for the substance or the mixture contains such a substance.

The person placing a substance or mixture of substances on the market is responsible for ensuring that the safety data sheet complies with the legal requirements and is complete. The safety data sheet must be regularly updated to reflect the current state of knowledge, in particular when new information on hazards becomes available, and must be available in an official language of the Member State in which the substance or mixture of substances is placed on the market.

An extended safety data sheet contains an annex in which the uses are described. It must be prepared for substances for which a chemical safety assessment or exposure assessment has been carried out. Accordingly, this is necessary for hazardous substances registered with ≥ 10 t/a. In this case, the registrant or supplier must prepare an extended SDS and make it available to downstream users.

Our consulting and support services

• Advice on all aspects of the safety data sheet
• Impact analysis
• Preparation of safety data sheets in accordance with the REACh and CLP regulations
• Preparation of extended safety data sheets in accordance with the REACh and CLP regulations
• Translation of safety data sheets into the 22 official EU languages/for 27 EU countries
• Preparation of safety data sheets for non-EU countries in collaboration with our cooperation partners
• Review of your safety data sheets with regard to legal requirements as well as completeness and plausibility of the information
• Review of the dangerous goods classification (ADR) in Chapter 14
• Advice on and creation of product labels in accordance with the CLP Regulation