Whenever you work with hazardous materials, you need to know their exact ingredients as well as their properties and the hazards they pose. You also need guidelines for procedures and protective equipment, handling and storage, and preventing or mitigating spills, fires, or injuries. Container labels don’t always tell you everything you need to know about hazardous materials, The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, and importers to provide Safety Data Sheets (SDSs; formerly known as Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDSs) to inform users about chemical product hazards. Employers must ensure that SDSs are readily accessible to employees. As of June 1, 2015, new SDSS are required to be in a uniform format (Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, or GHS), with the section numbers, headings, and specifics included below

1. Identification: Product identifier; manufacturer or distributor name, address, phone number; emergency phone number; recommended use: restrictions on use
2. Hazard(s) identification: All hazards regarding the chemical; required label elements
3.  Composition/information on ingredients: Information on chemical ingredients; trade secret claims
4. First-aid measures: Important symptoms/effects, both acute and delayed; required treatment
5. Fire-fighting measures: Suitable extinguishing techniques, equipment; chemical hazards from fire
6. Accidental release measures: Emergency procedures; protective equipment; proper methods of containment and cleanup
7. Handling and storage: Precautions for safe handling and storage, including incompatibilities
8. Exposure controls/personal protection: OSHA’s permissible exposure limits (PELS), threshold limit values (TLVs), appropriate engineering controls, and PP
9. Physical and chemical properties:
10. The chemicals characteristics Stability and reactivity: Chemical stability and possibility of hazardous reactions
11. Toxicological information: Routes of exposure, related symptoms, acute and chronic effects, numerical measures of toxicity
12. Ecological information*: Information provided here helps environmental professionals in the event of a release.
13. Disposal considerations*: Provided here is information about the chemical classification for waste-disposal laws.
14. Transport information*
15. Regulatory information*: This section contains information about the regulatory status of the material for OSHA and other federal agencies.
16. Other information: Date of preparation or last revision *Note: Other (non-OSHA) agencies regulate sections 12-

For more information, go to the OSHA QuickCard:

https://www.osha.gov/Publicationsi HazComm QuickCard_SafetyData.html,