A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) at a workplace must ensure that a hazardous chemical used, handled or stored at the workplace is correctly labelled by following clause 335 of the work health and safety act.
To assist PCBUs in managing chemicals, Safe Work Australia has developed the Managing Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice to provide practical guidance on how to manage health and safety risks associated with hazardous chemical who use chemicals in their workplace.
This guide should be used if you are a person conducting a business or undertaking and you:
- manage the health and safety risks of hazardous chemicals
- manufacture, import or supply hazardous chemicals
- use, handle, generate or store hazardous chemicals at your workplace
This Code of practice applies to all types of work and workplaces covered by the model Work Health and Safety Act. The code covers:
- workplace exposure standards
- hazardous chemical registers
- labelling
- safety data sheets
- health monitoring
- emergency plans
- ways to control risk
This model Code does not apply to transporting dangerous goods or explosives.
We have provided a copy of the guide here if you have trouble locating it.
What is a Safety Data Sheet
Safety Data Sheets (SDS), formally known as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are documents that provide critical information about hazardous chemicals. For example, they include information on:
- the chemical’s identity and ingredients
- health and physical hazards
- safe handling and storage procedures
- emergency procedures
- disposal considerations.
Managers and workers should use SDS when they assess the risks before using hazardous chemicals in the workplace.
SDS must provide information on the:
- Hazards of the chemical and how to handle it safely, including storage and disposal.
- Physical and chemical properties of the chemical, as well as potential health and emergency response measures.
- Environmental effects of the chemical.
Under the Global Harmonisation Service (GHS) that has been adopted worldwide, all SDS are set out in the same way using the following section headings:
- Section 1—Identification: product identifier and chemical identity
- Section 2—Hazard(s) identification
- Section 3—Composition and information on ingredients
- Section 4—First-aid measures
- Section 5—Firefighting measures
- Section 6—Accidental release measures
- Section 7—Handling and storage, including how the chemical may be safely used
- Section 8—Exposure controls and personal protection
- Section 9—Physical and chemical products
- Section 10—Stability and reactivity
- Section 11—Toxicological information
- Section 12—Ecological information
- Section 13—Disposal considerations
- Section 14—Transport information
- Section 15—Regulatory information
- Section 16—Any other relevant information.