Analyze an SDS

Regulations behind SDSs and labels

Which rules decide what a safety data sheet or a chemical label must say depends on where you work and what you do. Start with OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard for US workplaces, then use these overviews to see how other regimes compare. Each page covers who is affected, what is required for SDSs and labels, and the key differences from OSHA HazCom.

United States: workplace

Hazard communication and laboratory rules enforced by OSHA.

OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom, 29 CFR 1910.1200)
OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires chemical hazard classification, GHS labels, 16-section safety data sheets and worker...
OSHA Laboratory Standard (29 CFR 1910.1450)
The OSHA Laboratory Standard requires labs using hazardous chemicals to have a Chemical Hygiene Plan, train workers and keep SDSs...

United States: environment, chemicals and transport

EPA, state and DOT rules that sit beside OSHA.

EPA TSCA
TSCA is the US law under which EPA regulates the manufacture, import, use and disposal of industrial chemicals. Learn the TSCA...
SARA Title III and EPCRA
EPCRA (SARA Title III) requires facilities to plan for chemical emergencies, report releases and share SDS and inventory information...
California Proposition 65
Proposition 65 requires businesses to give a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly exposing Californians to listed chemicals...
DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR Parts 171 to 180)
The US DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR 171-180) govern shipping dangerous goods: classification, packaging, marking,...

Canada, Europe and the UK

WHMIS, REACH, CLP and Great Britain's separate regime.

WHMIS
WHMIS is Canada's system for communicating workplace chemical hazards. Since 2015 it uses GHS-based classification under the Hazardous...
EU REACH
EU REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) requires registration of chemicals, communication of hazards through safety data sheets and...
EU CLP
CLP, EU Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, implements the GHS in the European Union, setting hazard classification, labels, packaging and...
REACH Annex II
Annex II of REACH sets the format and content of safety data sheets in the EU: 16 sections with numbered subsections, language rules,...
UK REACH and GB CLP
After Brexit, Great Britain operates UK REACH and GB CLP, administered by the HSE, alongside Northern Ireland's separate EU-based rules....

International and other regions

The GHS itself, national implementations and international transport codes.

The UN GHS
The UN GHS is an international system for classifying chemical hazards and communicating them through labels and 16-section safety data...
Australia
In Australia, hazardous chemicals are regulated under work health and safety laws that adopt the GHS. Learn the SDS and label duties for...
GHS in Japan and China
A short, careful overview of how Japan and China implement the GHS for labels and safety data sheets: national standards (JIS Z 7252 and...
IATA DGR and the IMDG Code
The IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations govern shipping dangerous goods by air and the IMDG Code governs sea transport, both based on UN...
General information only. These pages summarise regulations in plain language for orientation. Regulations change, and the official text and your regulator's guidance decide what applies to you. See also the practical guides, the 16 SDS sections and the GHS reference.