Hazardous materials are common in the modern workplace, and it is clearly important that workers know when they are handling these materials to ensure adequate protection and compliance with the proper safety procedures. Fortunately, the Hazard Communication Standard created by OSHA requires that employers who use hazardous substances must make SDSs available for employee use and reference, and must provide appropriate warning labels on containers of hazardous substances within the facility.

The manufacturer or distributor of a hazardous substance usually prepares the SDS. SDS forms are found in a wide variety of formats, but regardless of the format, they must contain certain key information for employee reference. In many cases, more information is provided on the SDS than is required by law. The Hazard Communication Standard requires that the following categories of information be written in English on a SDS form. (A sample SDS is found at the end of this unit; refer to it when reading this section.)