The safety data sheet, abbreviated as SDS, is a document that sets out the hazards of a chemical and the conditions for its safe use in a predetermined layout. In international correspondence it is usually referred to by the abbreviations MSDS or SDS. The sheet's real function is not advertising or promotion but enabling the party receiving the product to carry out its own risk assessment.
What determines the format?
The order of sections and the content headings are not left open. In the European Union, the REACH Regulation and the regulation amending its annex determine the format of the sheet; in our country, the same framework is provided by the KKDİK Regulation. ISO 11014-1 is also among the standards cited in this area. The common aim is that the same information should be found in the same numbered section, regardless of the country in which the sheet is prepared. The scope of the regulatory framework is covered in the article on REACH and KKDİK.
The competence of the person preparing the sheet also matters. The sheet published for our facility's product was prepared by a chemical assessment specialist certified by TÜV AUSTRIA under TÜRKAK accreditation.
It is also clear to whom and when the sheet must be provided. The party supplying a substance classified as hazardous sends the current sheet to the buyer with the first delivery, and later revisions are also communicated. Because the document may be required in the official language of the country where the material will be used, a bilingual version is often prepared for export. The sheet is provided free of charge; no separate fee or application is expected from the buyer.
Sixteen sections
| No. | Section | What does it contain? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identification of the substance and the company | Product name, identified use, supplier and emergency telephone number |
| 2 | Hazards identification | Classification, pictogram, signal word, H and P statements |
| 3 | Composition/information on ingredients | Component name, CAS and EINECS numbers, concentration range |
| 4 | First-aid measures | Actions by route of exposure and advice on medical attention |
| 5 | Firefighting measures | Suitable extinguishing media and special hazards |
| 6 | Accidental release measures | Precautions in the event of a spill and methods for cleaning up |
| 7 | Handling and storage | Conditions for safe use and storage requirements |
| 8 | Exposure controls | Engineering controls and personal protective equipment |
| 9 | Physical and chemical properties | Data such as appearance, odour, pH and solubility |
| 10 | Stability and reactivity | Conditions to avoid and incompatible materials |
| 11 | Toxicological information | Data on the effects of exposure |
| 12 | Ecological information | Environmental behaviour and effects |
| 13 | Disposal considerations | Disposal of waste and packaging |
| 14 | Transport information | UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group |
| 15 | Regulatory information | Regulations applicable to the product |
| 16 | Other information | Version, date of issue, abbreviations and revision note |
The sixteen sections are not arranged at random. The first three introduce the product and its hazards; sections four to eight give emergency and everyday use precautions; sections nine to twelve bring together technical and scientific data; and the last four cover disposal, transport and regulation. Thanks to this layout, the information you need can be found without reading the whole sheet.
Which sections does the buyer look at first?
In practice, before reading the sheet from start to finish, a laboratory turns to four sections. Section two shows the hazard classes in which the material has been assessed; codes indicating high acute toxicity and the skull pictogram appear here. The meaning of these codes is explained in the article on GHS06 and H statements. Section eight states which protective equipment is required during work. Section seven gives the storage conditions. Section fourteen determines how the shipment is documented; the classification used for toxins from living sources is covered in the article on UN 3462.
Section three is often overlooked, yet it contains the information the buyer will enter into its own inventory. The name of the component, its CAS and EINECS numbers where available, and its proportion in the content are given in this section. For our facility's product, the component is recorded in the safety data sheet as L-amino acid oxidase, with CAS number 9000-89-9 and EINECS number 232-564-0. These numbers ensure that the material is placed in the correct class in the institution's inventory.
Version and currency
The sheet is not a document prepared once and then shelved. It is revised when the classification changes, when new data become available or when legislation is updated, and its version number and date change accordingly. A buyer should therefore check the date of the sheet in hand and, if working from a copy that has been sitting for a long time, ask for the current version. The sheet published for our facility's product is version 1.0 and is dated 10.07.2026; 112 is given as the emergency number. Working from a copy without version and date information is not recommended, as its currency cannot be verified. Most institutional buyers ask the supplier to confirm their archived sheet at regular intervals.
One limitation of the sheet should also be noted: a safety data sheet does not replace training. Sections four and six summarize what to do in an emergency, but this information assumes that staff have been trained in advance. In a laboratory working with a highly toxic material, the sheet is not an instruction pinned to the wall but a resource that is read during preparation and turned into a workflow. If exposure is suspected, call 112 without waiting.
Documents that come with it
The SDS alone is not a sufficient file. An institutional buyer usually also asks for the production permits, the species assessment and the batch analysis report alongside the sheet. Details of these documents are listed on the documents page. For the current version or questions about your institution's format, please use the contact page.
