Section 4: Chemical and Hazard Identification

• Labels
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)
• On-Line Chemical Information Resources
• Other Chemical Information Resources

Labels (top)

The manufacturer’s label should be kept intact. Do not intentionally deface or obscure the label or the hazard warnings until the container has been completely emptied. When a chemical is transferred from the original container into a secondary container for storage, the new container should be labeled with the name of the product, the chemical constituents and the primary hazard warnings.

Material Safety Data Sheets (top)

All chemical manufacturers or distributors are required to conduct a hazard evaluation of their products and include the information on a material safety data sheet (MSDS). The manufacturer or distributor is required to provide an MSDS with the initial shipment of their products. Any MSDSs received by the laboratory must be maintained in a central location in the laboratory or the department. The Chemical Hygiene Plan outlines what to do with MSDSs received by a particular laboratory.

MSDSs are sometimes difficult to interpret. For more information about understanding and using an MSDS, see the Guide to Understanding MSDS Information.

If an MSDS is not on hand, check the EHS web page for connections to on-line sources of MSDSs. If the MSDS cannot be found, contact the manufacturer or distributor at the number listed on the container label and request an MSDS. If the manufacturer does not provide one within a few days, contact James Boehlert 8-7882 at EHS for assistance.

On-line Chemical Information Resources (top)

The MSDS section of the EHS web page has a number of pointers to on-line collections of MSDSs and other chemical information sources. The Laboratory Safety page has even more pointers to chemical and laboratory safety information.

Other Chemical Information Resources (top)

A number of books with chemical safety information are available through EHS or the University Library. The following is a partial listing – titles available through the University Library are identified with an asterisk (*):

Armour, Margaret-Ann, Hazardous Laboratory Chemical Disposal Guide, Lewis Publishers, NY, 1996

*Bretherick, I., Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 4th ed., CRC Press, 1990.

  British Cryogenic Council, Cryogenics Safety Manual, 3rd ed., 1991.

*Clayton, George and F. Clayton, editors, Patty’s Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, Wiley,         Interscience, 1991.

*Compressed Gas Association, Inc., Handbook of Compressed Gases, 3rd ed., VanNostrand            Reinhold Company, New York, 1990.

Forsberg, Krister and Lawrence Keith, Chemical Protective Clothing Performance Index, Wiley and Sons, NY, 1999

*Furr, A. Keith, Handbook of Laboratory Safety, 5th ed., The Chemical Rubber Company, 2000.

*Gosselin,et al, Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, 5th ed., Williams & Wilkins, 1984.

* Lewis, Richard J., The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1993.

*Lewis, Richard J., Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, 8th ed., Litton Educational Publishing Inc., 1992.

Meyer, Eugene, Chemistry of Hazardous Materials, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1977

*National Academy of Sciences, Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories,             1995.

*National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances, (published annually).

*National Research Council, Prudent Practices in the Laboratory, National Academy Press, Washington, DC 1995

Office of Technology Assessment Task Force, Reproductive Health

Hazards in the Workplace, Science Information Resource Center, Philadephia, PA 1988

Patnaik, Pradyot, Comprehensive Guide to Hazardous Properties of Chemical Substances, Wiley and Sons, NY, 1999

Pohanish, Richard, Rapid Guide to Chemical Incompatibilities, Wiley & Sons, NY, 1997

*U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Occupational Health Guidelines for Chemical Hazards,            

NIOSH/OSHA.
Stull, Jeffrey, PPE Made Easy, Government Institutes, Rockville, MD, 1998

Section 5: Health Hazards of Chemicals
Section 3: Emergency Procedures