Safety Data Sheets (SDS) (EU)

Safety data sheets are regulated in the EU (and the EEA) via article 31 and Annex II of EU REACH.

In 2020, an amendment was made to EU REACH, that changed the safety data sheet requirements and the SDS format, effective 1st Jan 2021.

The instrument that does this is here. The SDS guidance was re-issued here.

Safety data sheets not complying with this 2020 change may continue to be provided until 31 December 2022.

The new EU SDS will apply to all goods circulating in the EU and in Northern Ireland.

[this change is not incorporated in UK REACH]

Safety Data Sheets (GHS)

In Europe, safety data sheets are governed by the EU REACH Regulation and are changing. One of the changes is to align with EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP). CLP implements the international Globally Harmonised System for standardising the classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS).

Here is the EU OSHA guidance on EU CLP.

In the US, safety data sheets are also changing.

Here is the US Department of Labor OSHA Guide to GHS which refers to the GHS “purple book” and gives a lot of detail.

Here is the US OSHA Fact Sheet on the new US ‘Hazard Communication Standard Final Rule’.