Safety Data Sheet

A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) — formerly called a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) in the U.S. — is a standardized document providing comprehensive hazard, handling, and emergency-response information for a chemical, substance, or product containing hazardous components.

The format is set by the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) and adopted in the U.S. by OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard at 29 CFR § 1910.1200. Every SDS has exactly 16 sections in fixed order:

1. Identification
2. Hazard(s) identification
3. Composition / information on ingredients
4. First-aid measures
5. Firefighting measures
6. Accidental release measures
7. Handling and storage
8. Exposure controls / personal protection
9. Physical and chemical properties
10. Stability and reactivity
11. Toxicological information
12. Ecological information (non-mandatory in U.S.)
13. Disposal considerations (non-mandatory)
14. Transport information
15. Regulatory information (non-mandatory)
16. Other information

In international trade, the SDS supports several documents and decisions:

• The Dangerous Goods Declaration for transport classification
• HTS classification of chemical mixtures (composition data from Section 3)
• TSCA and EPA import compliance (chemical inventory checks)
• FDA entries for cosmetics, food contact substances, and OTC drugs

SDSs must be in English for U.S. transport and provided in the workplace where the chemical is used. Importers of chemicals should obtain SDSs before order placement — they double as a sourcing record and a compliance artifact.