Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Workplace labels must contain a reference to the Safety Data Sheet, commonly known as an SDS. These are summary documents that provides in depth information about the hazards of a chemical along with information about safety precautions. They will almost always be provided by the supplier. 

The SDS will consist of 16 mandatory sections. If you read through one you may find that some of the information is complicated and difficult to understand. 

These sheets used to be known as a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), so you may occasionally see old binders or material referring to them by their former name.

On the following page you will find an actual SDS for Gasoline as prepared by Petro-Canada. Have a look through it, you may find that some of the elements are familiar. See if you can find the following:

• The Pictograms

• The Signal Word

• First Aid Measures

Once you have had a look at this SDS we will cover all of the elements and what they mean exactly.