Safety Data Sheets (SDS) - Frequently Asked Questions

Question
What does the legislation require concerning the SDS Compiler Competence?

Answer
The European Union legislation concerning compilation of Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) requires that the person compiling an SDS be "competent" (reference: REACH Regulation 1907/2006 Annex II Requirements for the compilation of Safety Data Sheets, para 0.2.3 of the introductory comments). The Regulation then says "Suppliers of substances and mixtures shall ensure that such competent persons have received appropriate training, including refresher training."

There is no further official EU requirement or guidance as to what constitutes appropriate training/refresher training. There is no EU or UK Government controlled, or approved, examination system with a set pass level and certification.

The requirement means that training should be given, or if applicable suitably refreshed, BEFORE a person is required by the employer to write or amend a Safety Data Sheet.

CHCS runs modular training for SDS writers, and the concept here is that the intended SDS compiler need only attend those modules of relevance - e.g. if the person is a toxicologist then there is no need to attend Module 5 – Basic Toxicology. Also it may be that the company has a person responsible for certain aspects of the tasks involved in order to compile an SDS, e.g. a Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) providing the data for Section 14 may obviate the need for the SDS compiler to attend Module 8, Classification for Transport, and Module 10, Transport Labelling and Documentation.

The full list of current training modules can be found on the Training page of this website.

CHCS normally offers each Module at least once a year. Where there is sufficient demand, modules may be offered more frequently. If you would like to attend a Module that is not currently advertised, or for which is not due to be run for some time, please do get in touch with the office to let us know of your interest. Where there is sufficient interest, we will look at running additional Modules when feasible.

If you want to attend all of the modules, it might mean that it could take up to a year to become "competent" enough to undertake SDS compilation. For that reason you might want to consider running some of the Modules in-house or utilising a suitable CHCS listed consultant to carry out initial training to an adequate level to meet the legal requirements, with later attendance at some of the Modules to supplement, reinforce, extend or refresh this initial competence.

Question
Do the REACH regulations allow us to publish Safety Data Sheet updates on the internet and inform our customers that they can access them rather than having to supply hard copies?

Answer
REACH Regulation Article 31(8) says that you shall 'provide' a safety data sheet free of charge, on paper or electronically to the recipient. The word ‘provide’ implies a positive duty on behalf of the supplier to actively send the Safety Data Sheet to the customer. Simply posting this information on your website and passively allowing users to find the Safety Data Sheet is 'making available' the information and not 'providing' it and therefore you would not be complying with REACH.

Some suppliers have questioned whether it is ok to send a link to a Safety Data Sheet on a website by email instead of attaching, for example, a PDF document. Sending a link to your general website that would require customers to then search for and download this document would not be considered an acceptable way of providing this information.

There is an ongoing discussion over whether it is acceptable to provide a direct link in an email to some or all of the Safety Data Sheet. This discussion is particularly relevant where extended Safety Data Sheets with many exposure scenarios need to be provided. In such a case it is likely that there would be some conditions to providing information in this way. For example, the supplier would need to ensure that the URL of the Safety data Sheet did not change for a reasonable length of time in case their website was redeveloped, that recipients and perhaps Member State Competent Authorities might have to agree this in advance, and so on.

Question
Do I have to supply overseas customers with SDSs in their language?

Answer
For supply within the EU/EEA, REACH Article 31(5) says that the SDS shall be supplied in an official language of the Member State(s) where the product is placed on the market, unless the MS provides otherwise.

For supply outside of the EU/EEA, Article 17 of the PIC Regulation requires that a REACH-compliant SDS should be given to the non-EU/EEA customer, and that, far as practicable, this should be given in the official languages, or in one or more of the principal languages, of the country of destination or of the area of intended use.

Question
Whose name and address should appear in section 1 of the SDS?

Answer
The name and address should be that of the supplier placing the substance or mixture on the EU/EEA market whether that is the manufacturer, importer, only representative, downstream user or distributor.

If the supplier is outside the EU/EEA (note: even if in Switzerland) then an EU/EEA name & address is mandatory. In addition to the name and address of the EU/EEA supplier, details of the non-EU/EEA manufacturer or formulator can be optionally provided.

Question
If a mixture has been classified as non-hazardous does that mean that I don’t need to produce a Safety Data Sheet?

Answer
It’s not necessarily true that non-hazardous chemicals are not regulated by the REACH Regulation. Article 31(3) of REACH sets out requirements for Safety Data Sheets to be prepared and provided on request to customers for mixtures that are not classified as hazardous but which contain

• hazardous substance(s) classified in respect of their health or environmental effects ≥1% for non-gaseous substances and ≥0.2% for gaseous substances
  
• substance(s) classified as PBT or vPvB, or otherwise included on the Candidate List ≥0.1%
  
• substance(s) for which there is a Community Workplace Exposure Limit
  

In this case the supplier must also label the mixture with the statement (EUH210) "Safety data sheet available for professional user on request".

Question
Do you recommend any software for creating and managing safety data sheets?

Answer
CHCS does not recommend any particular software. A list of some of the main providers of SDS compiling software can be found on the website of the German competent authority BAuA at http://www.baua.de/en/Topics-from-A-to-Z/Hazardous-Substances/Safety-data-sheet-software.pdf?__blob=publicationFile.