When is the chemical manufacturer required to distribute an MSDS under OSHA?

A manufacturer or a supplier is required under the law to provide hazard information on a Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) which will be than distributed to the customer at the time of first shipment of the product in the United States. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard dements that the MSDSs be updated by manufacturer, supplier or importer within three months of learning of “new or significant data” in regards to the chemical’s hazard potential in order to publish the hazard information to the downstream distributors and users of those products.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA)’s Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) is constructed in a manner to ensure that the workforce is properly informed of hazards associated with the exposure to harmful substances which are utilized in the work environment. Hazard Communication Standard insists that the manufacturer/supplier takes a chemical product into evaluation and assessment in order to determine the potential hazard of the chemical substance and inform the downstream distributors and users of the harmful effects a product has.

As mentioned in the first paragraph, hazard data must be transmitted on an MSDS which will be distributed to the customer at the time of first shipment of the product. In this case, manufacturer or supplier is obligated to keep the downstream user informed of new developing hazard information relating to a chemical product. The new obtained data must be transmitted to the downstream user with the next shipment of a product made after the MSDS has been updated. Manufacturer of the products containing harmful chemicals are obligated by the OSHA to compile, update and distribute their MSDSs as required. The MSDS document must indicate both the manufacturer and the product name, it also is required to incorporate information on hazardous substances’ physical properties, exposure limits, potential for fire and explosion hazard, potential exposure routes and related health effects, substance’s reactivity, proper procedures for handling spills, suggested protective measures, and any special precautions.

OSHA’s criteria requires a “downstream flow of data”, it specifically indicates that the manufacturers of chemicals such as “dangerous substance X” have a very important responsibility which is to distribute gathered information to the downstream user. However, downstream users have their own obligation and that is to transmit the obtained information from a manufacture/supplier to their own employees. OSHA believes that the Hazard Communication Standard ensures that employees will be appropriately informed of all chemical hazards present in their workplaces.