MSDS: The Key to Chemical Safety
“Employees and employers have a right to know about the hazards you may encounter
on the job and the ways to protect yourself from them.”
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (HAZCOM)
Dealer personnel work on a daily basis with dozens of hazardous chemicals. A wide variety of hazards can be associated with such chemicals, including physical hazards like fire, explosion, radioactivity, and reactivity, and health hazards like skin rashes, dizziness and other illnesses. Some of these hazards can be quite serious.
To understand the hazards of a given chemical and how to work with it safely, the best place to look is a Material Safety Data Sheet, or MSDS.
What is an MSDS?
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has developed the basic MSDS format. The goal of the MSDS system is to provide every user with a common source of all the facts known about each hazardous chemical used in workplaces in the United States.
Each MSDS tells you:
- What the chemical is
- Who makes or sells it and where the company is located
- Why the chemical is hazardous
- How you can be exposed to the hazards of the chemical and conditions that increase your risk
- How to handle the substance safety
- What protection you should use while working with it
- What you should do if you are exposed
- How to you handle a spill or an emergency
OSHA Regulations
OSHA specifically requires chemical manufacturers and importers to develop/obtain and provide Material Safety Data Sheets for each chemical they sell.
The regulation lists all the basic categories of information that have to be included on the MSDS for each chemical and for chemical mixtures. Manufacturers and importers have to develop a written description of how they determined the chemical's hazards, and that description must be made available to companies and employees who request it.
The Hazard Communication Standard requires employers to maintain copies of MSDSs for each chemical in the workplace, and to assure that the MSDSs are "readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area."
Material Safety Data Sheets can either be stored in a hard-copy binder or a computerized database; however, if the MSDS information is being stored in a computer system, employees must have access to the database in their immediate work areas. A good “rule of thumb” is to always have at least one hard copy of all MSDS in readily accessible location.
What are the consequences of not complying with this regulation? In a recent fiscal year, auto repair facilities not complying with the MSDS portion of the HAZCOM regulations have been fined up to $525 for each violation.
Is there a “one-stop” location for MSDSs?
The short answer to this question is “no” – but Toyota and Lexus dealers have a number of alternatives to getting the MSDS information they need for their operations.
The easiest place to go for MSDS documents for Toyota specific products is the EAN website. Click on the “Links” button in the left-side navigation frame; the Toyota MSDS link is at the top of the list. This link opens the 3E Online MSDS website log-in page. To use the MSDS search engine, simply enter your username - “Toyota” - and your password - “MSDS”. This will open a database search engine for all chemicals marketed by Toyota.
Another way to get the information you need is to call a 3E Live Assistance operator. The call is toll-free at 1-800-451-8346. For details on other ways to access Toyota specific MSDSs, review the information in PANT Bulletin 03-38.
Additional MSDS resources are available via the EAN website, including online MSDS databases, and fact sheets and pocket guides on some of the chemicals you use:
- University of Vermont Safety Information Resources (SIRI) - maintains a list of MSDS, if provided by the manufacturer or supplier of the product.
- The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - lists information on many chemicals used in paints. This information includes chemical names, Chemical Abstracts (CAS) identification numbers, physical chemical properties, toxicity, exposure limits, personal protection and respirator recommendations, exposure routes, symptoms, target organs, and cancer causing potential.
- New Jersey Right-to-Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets - are available for over 1,000 individual hazardous chemicals. The fact sheets contain acute and chronic health hazards, identification, workplace exposure limits, medical tests, workplace controls and practices, personal protective equipment, handling and storage, questions and answers, definitions, and emergency response information for fires, spills and first aid.
If you need additional assistance in locating an MSDS, please contact the Toyota EAN hotline at 1-800-542-3914.
Your employees have a right to know about hazards they might encounter on the job. And you have a right and an obligation to use the information available to you to protect yourself and others from those hazards.
The MSDS is a great tool; use it and stay safe.
