Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

Before the 2012 revision of the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, suppliers supplied MSDSs under a rule that only required certain content, not a fixed format. Some used eight sections, some used a dozen, and the order differed between companies. Finding the first-aid advice or the exposure limit could mean hunting through several pages.

When OSHA aligned HazCom with GHS Revision 3, the term changed to SDS and the format became a fixed 16-section layout. Manufacturers had to reclassify their products under the new criteria and rewrite the sheets, which is why many documents still labeled MSDS are now out of date.

People still say MSDS out of habit, and some older documents, search results, and binders still use it. If you hold a document titled MSDS, treat it with caution. It may predate current classification rules, miss newer hazard information, or lack the current label elements and hazard codes.

The practical step is to request a current SDS from the supplier. An old MSDS kept in a binder does not meet the current requirement, and an inspector would expect to see sheets in the modern format for products in use.