How Many Sections does a GHS Safety Data Sheet Contain? – The GHS SDS format has been harmonised so that information is easily found and shared with the right people. If you find you need to author your own SDS, there are 16 sections to a standard GHS safety data sheet and each section requires specific information: All hazardous chemicals – both pure substances and mixtures – are required to have a safety data sheet published in the REACH-compliant format.
Each subsection – regardless of the subsection not applying to the product or there being no information available – must be filled in. If there is no information for the subsection, or it doesn’t apply, it must contain a statement which points that out. Chemicals that are classified as non-hazardous generally do not require a safety data sheet to be published.
However, there are certain circumstances where the SDS is still required. Manufacturers will often supply a safety data sheet for every single one of their products, regardless of their classification.
Contents
- 1 Can safety data sheets have 9 or 16 sections?
- 2 What is GHS Safety Data Sheet?
- 3 How many safety data sheets are required?
- 4 Can GHS safety data sheets be listed in any order?
- 5 How many GHS are there?
- 6 Why must 5 safety data sheets have the GHS specified 16 section format and include certain types of information in each section?
How many sections are in a GHS compliant Safety Data Sheet?
The information contained in the SDS is largely the same as the MSDS, except now the SDSs are required to be presented in a consistent user-friendly, 16-section format. This brief provides guidance to help workers who handle hazardous chemicals to become familiar with the format and understand the contents of the SDSs.
Can safety data sheets have 9 or 16 sections?
How many sections in SDS? – Following GHS guidelines, SDS must include 16 specific sections which are grouped into four categories: 1) general information about the chemical, 2) technical and scientific information, 3) information governed by other agencies and 4) other. In this article we’ll explain each category and what is required in each specific section of a safety data sheet.
What is GHS Safety Data Sheet?
Little Pro on 2016-01-06 Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is a very important document to inform its audience of the hazards of a chemical substance or mixture and provide advice on safety precautions. Some countries may still call this document Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS),
Can the 16 sections of GHS be listed in any order?
The 16 sections of GHS Safety Data Sheets may be listed in any order that the agency issuing the document chooses.
What are the GHS standards?
Background – In 2003, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The GHS includes criteria for the classification of health, physical and environmental hazards, as well as specifying what information should be included on labels of hazardous chemicals as well as safety data sheets.
Why must safety data sheets have the GHS specified 16 section format?
Pg 3 To be compliant with GHS, all safety data sheets must have the GHS- specified, 16 section format and include certain types of information in each section. This standard format better ensures that all employers and employees understand the chemical, its hazards and the precautions users must take to remain safe.
How many safety data sheets are required?
What Are an Employer’s Safety Data Sheet Responsibilities? – The HCS requires employers to keep an updated Safety Data Sheet for every hazardous chemical used or stored in the facility, regardless of the frequency or amount of chemical used. Administrators can request additional copies of SDSs from chemical manufacturers at any time.
Employers shall ensure that SDSs are readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s). Leaders can keep these documents in a binder or store them electronically. However, if an organization chooses to store SDSs electronically, it must have another electronic or physical backup available in case of a power outage or other emergency.
In addition, if the SDSs are stored electronically then employees must be able to access them immediately without any barriers.
Are the 16 sections of SDS always listed in the same order?
Under the international standard called the Globally Harmonized System, or GHS, details about a chemical or mixture are provided in a standardized reference document called a Safety Data Sheet, or SDS. National laws based on GHS, such as OSHA’s Hazard Communication System (HazCom 2012) in the United States, also use the same format.
What are the five GHS categories?
Health Hazards –
| Pictogram | Hazard Class | Category | Description |
| Corrosion | Skin corrosion | Category 1A, 1B, 1C | Irreversible skin damage |
| Serious eye damage | Category 1 | Irreversible eye damage | |
| Skull and Crossbones | Acute toxicity, oral | Category 1, 2, 3 | Highly toxic in small amounts, serious health effects or death |
| Acute toxicity, dermal | Category 1, 2, 3 | ||
| Acute toxicity, inhalation | Category 1, 2, 3 | ||
| Health Hazard | Aspiration Hazard | Category 1, 2 | May be fatal if aspirated |
| Sensitization, respiratory | Category 1, 1A, 1B | Induces hypersensitivity of the airways | |
| Germ cell mutagenicity | Category 1A, 1B, 2 | May cause genetic defects | |
| Carcinogenicity | Category 1A, 1B, 2 | May cause cancer | |
| Reproductive Toxicity | Category 1A, 1B, 2 | May damage fertility; may damage the unborn child | |
| Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure | Category 1, 2 | Causes damage to organs | |
| Specific target organ toxicity, repeated exposure | Category 1, 2 | Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure | |
| Exclamation Mark | Eye irritation | Category 2A | Causes serious eye irritation |
| Skin irritation | Category 2 | Causes skin irritation | |
| Acute Toxicity, oral | Category 4 | Harmful if swallowed | |
| Sensitization, skin | Category 1 | May cause an allergic skin reaction | |
| Acute toxicity, dermal | Category 4 | Harmful in contact with skin | |
| Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure, Respiratory tract irritation | Category 3 | May cause respiratory irritation | |
| Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure, Narcotic effects | Category 3 | May cause drowsiness or dizziness | |
| Hazardous to the ozone layer | Category 1 | Harms public health and the environment | |
| Environment | Hazardous to the aquatic environment, acute hazard | Category 1 | Environmental hazard |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment, long-term hazard | Category 1, 2 |
What does Section 1 of a GHS Safety Data Sheet contain?
Section 1, Identification includes product identifier; manufacturer or distributor name, address, phone number; emergency phone number; recommended use; restrictions on use. Section 2, Hazard(s) identification includes all hazards regarding the chemical; required label elements.
Can GHS safety data sheets be listed in any order?
The 16 sections of the GHS Safety Data Sheets may be listed in any order that the agency issuing the document chooses. – A) True. B) False.
What is in Section 9 of the SDS?
Section 9: Information on the Basic Physical and Chemical Properties – In Section 9, the supplier will provide you with information on how the product will act and its physical and chemical properties. This information is vitally important when conducting your risk assessments. In this section you may find the: All of this information will assist you when you’re conducting your risk assessment and implementing safe working procedures and PPE and training requirements. If the product has had a chemical safety report written for it, then the data in this section should match the data in the report.
If the information does not match, or you feel there is important information missing, you must contact the supplier for advice and clarification. Every chemical product’s safety data sheet should include its basic information, generally formatted in a technical form using standard units of measurement.
However, you may find different suppliers using different units. In such cases, you need to convert the numbers yourself to make your comparisons.
What is Section 12 of the SDS?
GHS Toxicological Information: SDS Section 12 – Section 12 – Ecological Information – contains ecological and ecotoxicological data for both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This section is designed to assist environmental stewardship, prevent harmful effects to the health of local ecosystems, and help businesses evaluate one product against another. The GHS Purple Book requirements for Section 12 are:
Toxicity Persistence and degradability Bioaccumulative potential Mobility in soil Information about other adverse environmental effects that do not fall into GHS classifications
The ecotoxicological test data for aquatic organisms used to determine GHS classifications should be provided (see box for more detail). Any available test data for terrestrial organisms (birds, bees, plants) is also pertinent. Important details to include throughout this section include species, media, test duration and test conditions.
What does GHS stand for?
What is the Globally Harmonized System (GHS)? – Back to top GHS stands for the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. It is a system of hazard communication for chemical hazards that can be adopted by countries around the world.
format for safety data sheets (SDSs), content for label and SDSs with
hazard and precautionary statements symbols signal word
NOTE: This document discusses the global GHS, as developed by the United Nations. GHS is a ‘non-binding’ system of hazard communication. Only the elements of GHS that have been explicitly adopted by Canadian legislation are enforceable. See the OSH Answers documents on WHMIS 2015 for a summary of how GHS was implemented in Canada.
How many GHS are there?
There are 29 GHS hazard classes in total. They are used to describe 3 main types of chemical hazards: physical hazards, health hazards and environmental hazards.
How many GHS compliant label elements are there?
Update chemical containers with GHS labels – Labeling is the cornerstone of GHS compliance. With an emphasis on consistency and comprehension of chemical labels, it is important to know what goes into a GHS compliant label for primary and secondary containers. There are six key GHS label elements that you need to know.
How many GHS labels are there?
While the GHS uses a total of nine pictograms, OSHA will only enforce the use of eight. The environmental pictogram is not mandatory but may be used to provide additional information.
What is the GHS 7 classification system?
Classification codes include information about the safe way to store, use and dispose of chemicals. We use the Globally Harmonised System (GHS 7) hazard classification system in New Zealand. The GHS 7 assigns classifications to a hazardous substance based on its:
- physical hazards (such as flammability)
- human health hazards (such as acute toxicity)
- environmental hazards (such as whether it is hazardous to the aquatic environment).
A hazard classification comes in two parts:
- The hazard class, This refers to the nature of the hazard the substance poses.
- The hazard category, This refers to the severity of the hazard within a hazard class. The lower the category number, the more severe the hazard.
For example: Acute oral toxicity Category 1:
- acute oral toxicity is the hazard class
- Category 1 is the hazard category,
- A substance with this hazard classification is more toxic than a substance with the hazard classification acute oral toxicity Category 4.
The hazardous properties of a substance are classified to determine how the risks can be managed. There are eight key hazard classes:
- Class 1: explosives
- Class 2: flammable gases
- Class 3: flammable liquids
- Class 4: flammable solids
- Class 5: oxidising substances
- Class 6: substances toxic to people
- Class 8: corrosive substances
- Class 9: substances toxic to the environment
- (Class 7 is missing as it covers radioactive materials which are regulated under the Radiation Safety Act 2016.)
As well as, or instead of, categories, some of the hazard classes have sub-categories, types, divisions or groups. These can differ based on severity, how the substance is packaged, or on various physical properties. The correlation tables below list the hazard classifications and their correlation to the previous HSNO classification system used.
What is Section 7 of GHS?
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) Explained Last Updated: September 22, 2020 10:41:01 AM PDT Safety Data Sheets (formerly called Material Safety Data Sheets) communicate hazard information about chemical products.
Need a Safety Data Sheet now? Go to,
The federal, revised in 2012, now requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, and importers to provide new Safety Data Sheets in a uniform format that includes the section numbers, headings, and associated information below. Section 1 – Identification identifies the chemical on the SDS as well as the recommended uses.
It also provides the essential contact information of the supplier. Section 2 – Hazard(s) identification includes the hazards of the chemical and the appropriate warning information associated with those hazards. Section 3 – Composition/information on ingredients identifies the ingredient(s) contained in the product indicated on the SDS, including impurities and stabilizing additives.
This section includes information on substances, mixtures, and all chemicals where a trade secret is claimed. Section 4 – First-aid measures describes the initial care that should be given by untrained responders to an individual who has been exposed to the chemical.
- Section 5 – Fire-fighting measures lists recommendations for fighting a fire caused by the chemical, including suitable extinguishing techniques, equipment, and chemical hazards from fire.
- Section 6 – Accidental release measures provides recommendations on the appropriate response to spills, leaks, or releases, including containment and cleanup practices to prevent or minimize exposure to people, properties, or the environment.
It may also include recommendations distinguishing between responses for large and small spills where the spill volume has a significant impact on the hazard.
Section 7 – Handling and storage provides guidance on the safe handling practices and conditions for safe storage of chemicals, including incompatibilities. Section 8 – Exposure controls/personal protection indicates the exposure limits, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE) measures that can be used to minimize worker exposure. Section 9 – Physical and chemical properties identifies physical and chemical properties associated with the substance or mixture.
Section 10 – Stability and reactivity describes the reactivity hazards of the chemical and the chemical stability information. This section is broken into 3 parts: reactivity, chemical stability, and other. Section 11 – Toxicological information identifies toxicological and health effects information or indicates that such data are not available.
This includes routes of exposure, related symptoms, acute and chronic effects, and numerical measures of toxicity. Section 12 – Ecological information provides information to evaluate the environmental impact of the chemical(s) if it were released to the environment. Section 13 – Disposal considerations provides guidance on proper disposal practices, recycling or reclamation of the chemical(s) or its container, and safe handling practices.
To minimize exposure, this section should also refer the reader to Section 8 (Exposure Controls/Personal Protection) of the SDS. Section 14 – Transport information includes guidance on classification information for shipping and transporting of hazardous chemical(s) by road, air, rail, or sea.
Section 15 – Regulatory information identifies the safety, health, and environmental regulations specific for the product that is not indicated anywhere else on the SDS. Section 16 – Other information indicates when the SDS was prepared or when the last known revision was made. The SDS may also state where the changes have been made to the previous version.
You may wish to contact the supplier for an explanation of the changes. Other useful information also may be included here. : Safety Data Sheets (SDS) Explained
What are the 4 aims of the GHS?
Enhance the protection of human health and the environment by providing an internationally understood system, ▪ Provide a recognized framework to develop regulations for those countries without existing systems, ▪ Facilitate international trade in chemicals whose hazards have been identified on an international basis,
How many sections do safety data sheets have as per Whmis 2015?
Safety data sheets (SDSs) are documents that provide information about hazardous products and advice about safety precautions. SDSs provide more information about products than labels do. This toolbox meeting guide lists the 16 sections of an SDS and discusses how and when workers should use SDSs.
Why must 5 safety data sheets have the GHS specified 16 section format and include certain types of information in each section?
Pg 3 To be compliant with GHS, all safety data sheets must have the GHS- specified, 16 section format and include certain types of information in each section. This standard format better ensures that all employers and employees understand the chemical, its hazards and the precautions users must take to remain safe.
What is Section 12 of the SDS?
GHS Toxicological Information: SDS Section 12 – Section 12 – Ecological Information – contains ecological and ecotoxicological data for both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This section is designed to assist environmental stewardship, prevent harmful effects to the health of local ecosystems, and help businesses evaluate one product against another. The GHS Purple Book requirements for Section 12 are:
Toxicity Persistence and degradability Bioaccumulative potential Mobility in soil Information about other adverse environmental effects that do not fall into GHS classifications
The ecotoxicological test data for aquatic organisms used to determine GHS classifications should be provided (see box for more detail). Any available test data for terrestrial organisms (birds, bees, plants) is also pertinent. Important details to include throughout this section include species, media, test duration and test conditions.
What is Section 7 of the SDS?
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) Explained Last Updated: September 22, 2020 10:41:01 AM PDT Safety Data Sheets (formerly called Material Safety Data Sheets) communicate hazard information about chemical products.
Need a Safety Data Sheet now? Go to,
The federal, revised in 2012, now requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, and importers to provide new Safety Data Sheets in a uniform format that includes the section numbers, headings, and associated information below. Section 1 – Identification identifies the chemical on the SDS as well as the recommended uses.
- It also provides the essential contact information of the supplier.
- Section 2 – Hazard(s) identification includes the hazards of the chemical and the appropriate warning information associated with those hazards.
- Section 3 – Composition/information on ingredients identifies the ingredient(s) contained in the product indicated on the SDS, including impurities and stabilizing additives.
This section includes information on substances, mixtures, and all chemicals where a trade secret is claimed. Section 4 – First-aid measures describes the initial care that should be given by untrained responders to an individual who has been exposed to the chemical.
Section 5 – Fire-fighting measures lists recommendations for fighting a fire caused by the chemical, including suitable extinguishing techniques, equipment, and chemical hazards from fire. Section 6 – Accidental release measures provides recommendations on the appropriate response to spills, leaks, or releases, including containment and cleanup practices to prevent or minimize exposure to people, properties, or the environment.
It may also include recommendations distinguishing between responses for large and small spills where the spill volume has a significant impact on the hazard.
Section 7 – Handling and storage provides guidance on the safe handling practices and conditions for safe storage of chemicals, including incompatibilities. Section 8 – Exposure controls/personal protection indicates the exposure limits, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE) measures that can be used to minimize worker exposure. Section 9 – Physical and chemical properties identifies physical and chemical properties associated with the substance or mixture.
Section 10 – Stability and reactivity describes the reactivity hazards of the chemical and the chemical stability information. This section is broken into 3 parts: reactivity, chemical stability, and other. Section 11 – Toxicological information identifies toxicological and health effects information or indicates that such data are not available.
- This includes routes of exposure, related symptoms, acute and chronic effects, and numerical measures of toxicity.
- Section 12 – Ecological information provides information to evaluate the environmental impact of the chemical(s) if it were released to the environment.
- Section 13 – Disposal considerations provides guidance on proper disposal practices, recycling or reclamation of the chemical(s) or its container, and safe handling practices.
To minimize exposure, this section should also refer the reader to Section 8 (Exposure Controls/Personal Protection) of the SDS. Section 14 – Transport information includes guidance on classification information for shipping and transporting of hazardous chemical(s) by road, air, rail, or sea.
- Section 15 – Regulatory information identifies the safety, health, and environmental regulations specific for the product that is not indicated anywhere else on the SDS.
- Section 16 – Other information indicates when the SDS was prepared or when the last known revision was made.
- The SDS may also state where the changes have been made to the previous version.
You may wish to contact the supplier for an explanation of the changes. Other useful information also may be included here. : Safety Data Sheets (SDS) Explained
