Element B2 of the NEBOSH National Diploma syllabus, Principles of Toxicology and Epidemiology, says in its Classifying Hazardous Substances subsection that students/candidates must be able to "outline the content of (material) safety data sheets and other sources of information".

And the examiners will test candidates on this topic. In the July 2007 Unit B examination paper, Question 2 read:

"Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) provide important information to employers who are required to assess exposure to hazardous substances in their workplaces.

(a)  Identify five types of information on a typical SDS.
(b)  In each case, outline how the information could contribute to the assessment of exposure."

Last year's NEBOSH Examiners' Report (July 2007) says that, in answering (a), candidates had little difficulty in identifying five of the 16 types of information in a typical SDS.

But the examiners said that the second half of the question had proved more difficult and many candidates were unable to outline how the different types of information listed in part (a) might be useful in carrying out a hazardous substance risk assessment.

Examinees were expected to recognise that the following pieces of information would be invaluable to an employer in carrying out an assessment of the exposure of employees to a hazardous substance in the workplace:

• composition of the substance
   
• the hazards associated with its use
   
• the effectiveness of existing control measures when measured against those recommended
   
• the workplace exposure limit (WEL).

This article examines the need for, and composition of, safety data sheets and takes into account the relevant legislation, including the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 (CHIP 3) and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH).
 

Cradle to grave

Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act contains the first reference to "articles and substances for use at work".

The section places a duty on anyone who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies an article or substance for use at work to ensure - so far as is reasonably practicable - that:

• the article or substance is safe and without risk to health when used properly
   
• adequate risk information is provided on the safe use of articles and
  substances
   
• the necessary testing, inspection and research of any article or substance supplied by them is carried out before the article or substance is put to use
  at work.

As far as substances are concerned, the definition of "use" includes: storage, transportation, use and disposal, making it a cradle-to-grave duty of care.

This requirement led chemical manufacturers to begin providing the risk information for substances and suppliers to circulate safety data sheets to their customers.

In 1985, the HSE first published its guidance booklet HSG 27, Substances for Use at Work: the Provision of Information, to help organisations comply with the "substance" aspect of Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. This covered:

• general principles
   
• preparation of an information package by the substance supplier
   
• gathering and use of information by the substance user.

In an appendix, the guidance set out the type of information to be included in an effective SDS, including the product's intended uses, composition, physical and chemical properties, health hazards and handling/use precautions.

HSG 27 has since been updated and replaced with L 130, The Compilation of Safety Data Sheets: Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 Approved Code of Practice.

In 1988, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) came into force. COSHH Regulation 6 required that an employer should not carry out any work liable to expose employees to any substance hazardous to health, unless they had made a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks created by that work to the health of those employees, and the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of the Regulations; that is, the control measures. There was no change to this in COSHH 2002, which superseded the 1988 Regulations.

Paragraph 18 of the 1988 Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) refers to "suppliers' information sheets" and paragraph 53 of the COSHH 2002 ACoP refers to "supplier's safety data sheets".

It wasn't until 1993 that the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging) Regulations 1993 (CHIP) saw the light of day. (These were later updated and revised as the CHIP 3 Regulations, 2002.)

It's the CHIP Regulations - not COSHH - which require the production and circulation of a relevant safety data sheet by the chemical manufacturer, importer into the EU, or supplier.

Again, it is Regulation 6 of CHIP 93 (and of CHIP 94, when "Supply" was added to the Regulations' title) that requires the supplier of a substance or preparation dangerous for supply to provide the recipient of that substance with a safety data sheet containing information under the headings specified in Schedule 5 (see box), to enable the recipient of that substance or preparation to take the necessary measures for the protection of health and safety at work, and of the environment.

CHIPs with everything

Schedule 5 differs a little from the original list of data requirements in HSG 27. Its 16 subheadings are as follows.

• Identification of the substance/preparation and company/undertaking.
   
• Composition/information on ingredients.
   
• Hazard identification.
   
• First-aid measures.
   
• Firefighting measures.
   
• Accidental release measures (including spillage containment).
   
• Handling and storage.
   
• Exposure controls/personal protection.
   
• Physical and chemical properties.
   
• Stability and reactivity.
   
• Toxicological information (including reference to any workplace exposure limits).
   
• Ecological information.
   
• Disposal considerations.
   
• Transport information.
   
• Regulatory information.
   
• Other information.

Going ahead

If we combine the Health and Safety at Work Act Section 6 definition of use together with subheading 7 of CHIP 93 and the need to undertake a suitable and sufficient COSHH assessment, it's clear that it's vital for chemical suppliers to make sure the relevant safety data sheet gets to the customer's premises before the actual chemical, to enable the user/customer to include an assessment of the storage needs of the chemical for when it does arrive.

Most COSHH assessments seem to forget this important aspect.
To ensure that chemical suppliers are fully aware of their legal duties, the HSE has produced a free leaflet, The Idiot's Guide to CHIP 3.

As far as the CHIP safety data sheets are concerned, the leaflet states that SDSs are a must if the chemical being supplied for use at work is dangerous, whether in packages or not.

SDSs are also needed if the chemical is not classified as dangerous but contains small amounts of dangerous substances. If suppliers are selling to someone who is going to use the chemical for their work, then an SDS must be provided.

CHIP does not specify exactly what information should be contained in an SDS but does set a standard for the quality of information to be included and set out the 16 subheadings under which the information has to be provided (see box above).

The quality standard puts the responsibility on the supplier to ensure that the information provided is sufficient; that is, enough to allow the user to decide how to protect people at work and the environment.

This will include information on:

• the hazards of the chemical
   
• handling and storage
   
• its environmental effects
   
• exposure controls/personal protection.

The leaflet goes on to explain where CHIP finishes and where the law on workplace and environmental control of the chemical starts.

Divided duty

Broadly, the need to provide an SDS to customers is covered by CHIP, while employers' use of the information in the SDS to assess and manage the hazardous substance risk is covered by workplace control law - that is, by COSHH and the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations or by environmental control law.

So it's imperative for suppliers to maintain an up-to-date list of their customers going back over time and to be able to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that they have a system that ensures that all customers have received all the relevant and most recent SDSs for those chemicals purchased from the supplier.

Remember that in some cases, such as chemical laboratories, chemicals may well have been on the shelves or in storage for a number of years.

One way of checking if you have an updated SDS is to compare the toxicological data - the WEL - with that provided by the HSE in its EH 40 publication, which is revised annually. As WELs were introduced in EH 40/2005, any SDS not referring to workplace exposure limits is woefully out of date!

Another useful free HSE leaflet aimed at users of chemicals is INDG 353 - Why do I Need a Safety Data Sheet? This explains in brief what SDSs should cover and who should produce them. It refers to the ACoP that accompanies CHIP 2002:

L 130, The Compilation of Safety Data Sheets (www.hsebooks.com, £7.95).
The leaflet explains that if a chemical is classified as dangerous under CHIP, the supplier must provide information about any hazards.

Though some basic hazard information should be provided on the labels (see HSE free leaflet INDG 352, Read the Label - How To Find Out if Chemicals Are Dangerous. for information on labelling of hazardous substances), an important requirement of CHIP is that suppliers must provide more detailed hazard information on a safety data sheet.

It points out that the SDS is not a hazardous substance (COSHH) assessment but that it describes the hazards to health and safety, enabling the user to assess the probability of those hazards (that is, the risk) arising in the workplace, based on the actual circumstances of storage, transportation, use and disposal of the chemical.

The leaflet refers to the COSHH Essentials guidance, which is now freely available at www.coshh-essentials.org.uk

It stresses that the information on the SDS is important, especially the boiling point and the classification data, as it should help users undertake a suitable and sufficient COSHH assessment. It says that if such information is not on the SDS, then the supplier should be asked to provide it, as the suppliers are responsible in law for providing accurate and up-to-date SDSs for all dangerous chemicals.

CHIP allows for SDSs to be sent electronically, as long as the user/customer has the technology to receive them. Once the user has received the SDSs they should then form part of the user's COSHH compliance package as, together with the COSHH assessment, they are means of communicating risk information to the exposed population - the employees at risk.

So chemical users need to include the SDSs in the information, instruction and training aspects of their COSHH compliance (these are required under Regulation 12) by using them in training sessions and by displaying them in the workplace where the dangerous chemicals are being stored and used.

Exceptions to CHIP include medicines and cosmetics which are covered by other legislation and have different rules for packaging and labelling. Also, retailers do not have to supply SDSs to the general public. But if you buy a dangerous chemical from a retailer for use at work, the retailer must provide you with an SDS if you ask for one.

Retailers do not have to give you the SDS with the product, provided they make arrangements to forward it to you promptly.

In the second part of this article we will look in detail at the contents of safety data sheets.