What Is an MSDS Sheet? Contents, Name Change, and 2024 Update

An MSDS sheet, short for Material Safety Data Sheet, is the older name for the document that spells out a chemical product’s hazards, safe-handling steps, first-aid measures, and emergency response information. In 2015, the format was replaced by the Safety Data Sheet (SDS), a standardized 16-section document required under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. Many people still say “MSDS” out of habit, but every compliant document produced since mid-2015 follows the newer SDS layout. The purpose is the same: tell the people who handle, ship, or respond to a chemical exactly what they are dealing with.

What the Document Contains

Every SDS follows the same 16-section order, so you can find what you need without hunting. OSHA requires sections 1 through 11 and section 16. Sections 12 through 15 cover ecological, disposal, transport, and regulatory information governed by other federal agencies like the EPA and DOT, so OSHA does not mandate them, though most manufacturers include them anyway.¹

Section 1, Identification: the chemical’s name, recommended uses, and supplier contact information.
Section 2, Hazard Identification: hazard classifications, signal words, and pictograms.
Section 3, Composition: ingredients, including impurities and additives. Trade secret claims must be disclosed here.
Section 4, First-Aid Measures: immediate steps for skin, eye, inhalation, and ingestion exposure.
Section 5, Fire-Fighting Measures: suitable extinguishing agents and any unusual fire behavior.
Section 6, Accidental Release Measures: spill cleanup procedures and personal precautions.
Section 7, Handling and Storage: safe temperature ranges, incompatible materials, and storage conditions.
Section 8, Exposure Controls and Personal Protection: permissible exposure limits and recommended protective equipment.
Section 9, Physical and Chemical Properties: boiling point, flash point, odor, and similar measurable traits.
Section 10, Stability and Reactivity: conditions that could trigger a hazardous reaction.
Section 11, Toxicological Information: health effects from short-term and long-term exposure.
Sections 12 through 15, not required by OSHA: environmental impact, disposal, shipping, and regulatory information.
Section 16, Other Information: date of preparation or last revision, plus any additional notes.

The early sections are front-loaded on purpose. If someone splashes a chemical in their eyes, sections 2 and 4 give you the answer without scrolling past boiling-point data.

Signal Words and Pictograms

Section 2 uses two visual cues to communicate severity at a glance. Only two signal words exist. “Danger” appears on the most severe hazards, and “Warning” appears on less severe ones. When a chemical triggers both across different hazard categories, only “Danger” is used because it always takes priority.²

Nine standardized pictograms round out the visual system. Each is a red-bordered diamond with a black symbol inside:

Exploding bomb: explosives and self-reactive substances.
Flame: flammable gases, liquids, solids, and aerosols.
Flame over circle: oxidizers that can intensify a fire.
Gas cylinder: compressed, liquefied, or dissolved gases under pressure.
Corrosion: substances that burn skin or corrode metals.
Skull and crossbones: acutely toxic substances.
Exclamation mark: irritants, skin sensitizers, and lower-level acute toxicity.
Health hazard silhouette: carcinogens, respiratory sensitizers, and reproductive toxins.
Environment (dead tree and fish): aquatic toxicity.

The same pictograms appear on shipped container labels, so a symbol on a jug lines up with the same symbol on the SDS.²

Who Provides the Sheet and Who Can See It

Chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors must provide an SDS with the initial shipment of any hazardous product and send updated versions when the formulation or hazard information changes.³

Once the sheet reaches a workplace, the employer takes over. OSHA requires every employer to maintain an SDS for each hazardous chemical on site and make those sheets immediately accessible to employees during every work shift. Electronic systems such as databases and intranet portals are permitted, but they cannot create any barrier to immediate access.³

If employees travel between job sites during a shift, the employer can keep the physical collection at the primary facility, but must still guarantee immediate access to the information in an emergency. When an electronic system goes down because of a power outage or equipment failure, OSHA has clarified that phoning hazard information to the site counts as an acceptable backup, provided a physical copy of the SDS follows as soon as possible.⁴

Availability is only part of the obligation. Employers must also develop a written hazard communication program that lists every hazardous chemical on site, describes the labeling system, and explains how employees can reach the SDS collection. New hires must be trained on hazard communication before they start working with chemicals, and additional training is required whenever a new chemical hazard enters the work area.³

Your right to see an SDS is not discretionary. Under the Hazard Communication Standard, employees must be told where the collection is and how to use it. If you ask for a sheet and your employer stalls or refuses, that is a violation of federal law. Designated employee representatives, such as union safety officers, can request sheets too, as can OSHA inspectors and officials from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.³

Trade Secret Ingredients

Manufacturers sometimes claim that the exact identity of an ingredient or its precise concentration is a trade secret. The rule allows it, within limits. Section 3 must explicitly state when an ingredient identity or exact percentage has been withheld, and the manufacturer cannot hide the hazard information itself. All health and safety data for the withheld ingredient must still appear on the sheet, and any withheld concentration must be reported as the narrowest possible range rather than a vague approximation.⁵

How to Find a Safety Data Sheet

The fastest route is usually the manufacturer or supplier, since federal law already requires them to send one with each initial shipment.³ At work, your employer is required to have the sheet available and to tell you where. Many workplaces use an electronic SDS management system or keep a binder in a central location. If you cannot find a sheet for a chemical you are working with, ask your supervisor. The obligation to provide access is immediate.

Online databases are useful when you need a sheet outside of work or want to compare products. Searching by product name, manufacturer, or Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number narrows results quickly. Always confirm you are looking at the most recent revision; manufacturers update sheets when new hazard data emerges or formulations change.

Why the Name Changed

The shift from Material Safety Data Sheet to Safety Data Sheet was part of a global standardization effort called the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), developed by the United Nations. Before GHS, different countries used different formats, symbols, and hazard definitions for the same chemicals, which created confusion for anyone shipping or receiving products internationally.

OSHA adopted GHS by revising its Hazard Communication Standard in 2012. The final rule was published on March 26, 2012, and the deadline for chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers to fully switch to the SDS format was June 1, 2015.⁶ The purpose stayed the same, but the standardized 16-section layout, uniform pictograms, and consistent hazard classifications made the information far more predictable than the old MSDS format, which varied widely between manufacturers.

The 2024 Update

OSHA published another revision to the Hazard Communication Standard on May 20, 2024, which took effect on July 19, 2024.⁷ The 2024 rule updated, among other things, how quickly manufacturers must revise labels after learning of significant new hazard information: within six months of becoming aware of the new data. OSHA has extended certain compliance deadlines, so manufacturers and employers are still working through the transition.

If you are looking at a sheet and wondering whether it reflects the newest rules, check Section 16 for the revision date. A sheet last revised before mid-2024 was prepared under the 2012 version of the standard. That does not make it invalid, but as manufacturers update their documents you may notice changes in how certain hazards are classified or how label elements are worded.

1
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 29 CFR 1910.1200 App D – Safety Data Sheets
2
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hazard Communication Standard: Labels and Pictograms
3
eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.1200 – Hazard Communication
4
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Clarification of Systems for Electronic Access to MSDSs
5
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Use of Trade Secret in Lieu of Known Ingredient Percentages on SDSs
6
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hazard Communication – Effective Dates
7
Federal Register. Hazard Communication Standard