The Operational Material Safety Data Sheet—Key to the Effectiveness of a Generic Approach to the Control of Health and Safety Risks: II. The Operational Material Safety Data Sheet

Abstract The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is limited in its ability to issue specific exposure regulations on the majority of chemicals used in commerce. Further, the agency is strained to tightly monitor compliance in the large number of workplaces where chemicals are used. In our companion article we discuss a three-part proposal for addressing these deficiencies. A key part of the proposal calls for improvement of precautionary information based on substance-specific data obtained in a nonregulatory environment. Essential to this proposal is the improvement of the quality of material safety data sheets, which are referred to as operational material safety data sheets (MSDSs). This article defines the concept of operational information and focuses on the requirements for the operational MSDS. To develop the operational MSDS, clear distinctions must be understood between risk and harm. The MSDS writer must appreciate that in offering protective recommendations, there are inherent ...