Do Employers Have Responsibilities for MSDS?

There are many things that employers need to do to keep their workplace safe. One of those things is to make sure that they have MSDS, or material safety data sheets, on hand for all of the chemicals that they have in the facility. These sheets must be present for all the different hazardous chemicals that are used in a facility. In addition, they must contain the required information about the chemical including things like what types of hazards it presents, how to deal with a spill, and much more.

Fortunately, MSDSs are easily available and can even be downloaded and printed off. This means that employers generally have no excuse for not having the material safety data sheets on site, even if they are just starting to use a new chemical in the area.

In addition to having the responsibility of making sure that the MSDS is on site, the employer also needs to make sure that employees can see them. This is because it has been mandated by OSHA that all employees have the right to know about what dangerous chemicals they are working with, and how to work with them safely. Part of that requirement means that they can look at the MSDS and read them through so that they have a good understanding of each one.

In practice, most employers will have one area set aside for making sure that MSDSs are available for employees to review. Depending on the number of hazardous chemicals in the workplace, these sheets may be posted publicly or kept in an easily accessible area.