Safety Data Sheets
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are the primary means of communicating information on the hazards of chemicals and the risks they pose to human health and the environment as well as on measures to control the risks. They are regulated by the REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006.
Article 31 of REACH states that the supplier of a chemical, whether a manufacturer, importer, downstream user, distributor or an only representative, must provide customers with a SDS complying with REACH if the chemical they supply is hazardous.
The SDS supplied must be in the language of the country of which it is placed on the market and must contain the 16 headings as set out in Art. 31(6) of the REACH Regulation.
Annex II of REACH which lays out the requirements for compiling a SDS has been revised by Regulation (EC) No. 453/2010 to take account of the changes in classification and labelling which the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 introduces as well as aligning the rules for SDSs with the United Nations Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
Annex I of Reg. No. 453/2010 came into force on 1st December 2010 to keep in line with the changes for substances under the new CLP Regulation.
Annex II of Reg. No. 453/2010 will come into force on 1st June 2015 to keep in line with the changes CLP will bring for mixtures and will repeal Annex I of this Regulation.
Further Information:
ECHA: Guidance on the compilation of Safety Data Sheets: Version 1.1 (dated Dec 2011).
HSA: Information Sheet on Safety Data Sheets
HSA: Classification and Labelling section.
HSA: Information Sheet on Chemical Distributor Duties under REACH.
HSA: Your Steps to Chemical Safety