What are SDS sheets and what are they used for?

Ever since knowing that substances or mixtures can be more harmful to people than previously expected, a lot of work has gone into work safety. Compared to industries 50 years ago, the safety today is way better handled and maintained for workers. When you’re working with dangerous substances or mixtures, you’ll probably come across SDS sheets. But what are these SDS sheets exactly? It stands for ‘Safety Data Sheet’ and it’s a document describing the hazards of dangerous substances and mixtures, plus advice on how to work safely with it. The sds sheets contains, among other things, the chemical and non-chemical properties of the product. It also shows the required personal protective equipment and the transport and disposal requirements. It is a legal requirement to provide sds sheets in the official language of the country where the product is marketed.

How to make a sds sheet

You may be wondering how you can create your own sds sheets. This can be very important if you’re an importer, producer or mixer of hazardous substances. The supplier of the product is legally obliged to draw up a safety data sheet for a substance or mixture if the product is classified as hazardous according to the CLP. From 2021 onwards, it will also be compulsory to report dangerous mixtures to the Poison Centre Notification (PCN) portal in combination with the UFI code. This so called UFI code should be on the SDS sheets from then on. Be sure to always have an up-to-date administration for legal purposes.

A lot of changes to make

With the introduction of SDS sheets, UFI codes and the PCN, a lot of changes of to be made by multiple companies. This is because of all the new regulations, which makes creating sds sheets a complicated and time-consuming process. It requires lots of research, which means a lot of staff hours. Be sure to handle this properly, or it can cost you a lot in the long run. Regulations in this area are becoming more and more complex and it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep knowledge up-to-date. Therefore, lots of companies choose software or programs to help them draw up safety data sheets. This way, you don’t have to research everything yourself and you can just outsource it.