Creating a compliant Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is no simple task. Although the OSHA and WHMIS regulations outline the requirements, many (and I mean many!) SDS are lacking, and are in fact not compliant.
Health Canada and OSHA understand the complexity of creating a compliant SDS. They provide guidance to the regulations that enable the user to decipher the legal text found in the actual regulations. Still, non-compliant SDS exist.
Several years ago, Health Canada had a look at hundreds of SDS that were available online. They “secretly” audited the documents, and came up with the most common compliance issues.
Health Canada recently released a Compliance Tool that provides not only the requirements of each section, but the most common areas of non-compliance, and tips to correct them.
This new compliance tool can be found here: http://whmis.org/sds/
Here is an example of the information contained in this new tool.
We encourage all companies who produce SDS to self-audit their documents. The inspectors are going to be looking for the most common non-compliance issues, shouldn’t you correct them before that happens?
If you are not comfortable auditing your own documents, or simply do not have the time, let ICC Compliance Center help. Our team can review your comments and correct them as needed. If you need an SDS and want to take the worry of compliance away, let us create one for you. Our SDS creation process is simple, and we understand that product formulations are part of your company’s success. ICC Compliance Center is here to help.
We have all the products and services you need to ensure your staff is properly trained and informed.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Services
SDS & Right-To-Know Sign, 12″ x 15″, English
GHS Within OSHA (HazCom 2012) Poster, English
GHS within WHMIS 2015 Poster, English
ICC USA
ICC Canada