U.S. Study: Safety Data Sheets Contain Inadequate Hazard Warnings
Every third safety data sheet (SDS) contains inadequate hazard warnings, so that employees cannot properly protect themselves from the hazards. That’s the finding of a study conducted by the app manufacturer Clearya together with the BlueGreen Alliance, a consortium of ten American unions and four environmental organizations. They examined 655 SDS across sectors and checked the information given for 34 potentially hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, benzene, toluene, and cadmium.
- The inspectors studied the SDS of 30 carcinogenic substances and found that 15% of them failed to indicate the presence of the carcinogens.
- Some 20% of the SDS did not include warnings of reprotoxic substances.
- Another 13% of the SDS did not contain any warnings or displayed inadequate warnings about the organ toxicity of the chemical.
The SDS that were examined came from large chemical companies, small and midsize companies, and research and development labs. The results show small companies are not the only ones guilty of the abuse.
Several of the companies involved reacted to the results and assured their audience that the contents of their SDS always adhere to the legal requirements that apply in the countries in which they operate.
We generate SDSs worldwide according to GHS in more than 50 languages. Please contact us under sales@kft.de.
