Research Guide: Hazardous Chemicals

MSDS

Material safety data sheets (MSDS) are product safety information sheets prepared by manufacturers and marketers of chemical products. MSDS contain information on toxicity, first aid, personal protection controls, storage and handling precautions spill and leak cleanup and disposal practices, transportation, physical data and reactivity data. For laboratory chemicals, obtain the MSDS from the manufacturer.

Vermont SIRI Website. http://hazard.com/msds/ (Accessed 01/07/09).

There is no specified format for the MSDS under the code of Federal Regulations, although there are specific information requirements. OSHA has developed a non-mandatory format, OSHA Form 174 (Accessed 01/07/09), which may be used by chemical manufacturers and importers to comply with the rule. In practice, most MSDS follow a specific order of presentation. See 29 CFR 1910.1200 Appendix E (Advisory)--Guidelines for Employer Compliance "B. Material Safety Data Sheets", page 476-483, for information on hazardous communication. (OSHA explanation)

Note the following sections:

  • Section 4. First Aid Measures.
  • Section 5. Fire Fighting Measures
  • Section 6. Accidental Release Measures
  • Section 8. Exposure Controls/Personal Protection
  • Section 10. Stability and Reactivity

Chemical Compatibility

Chemical Hazards Response Information System (CHRIS). U.S. Coast Guard. (Accessed 01/07/09)
Guide to Compatibility of Chemicals. (Accessed 01/07/09)

Chemical Reactivity Worksheet. Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, NOAA
(Accessed 01/07/09). Includes:
  • Database of reactivity information for more than 6,000 common hazardous chemicals. The database includes information about the special hazards of each chemical and about whether a chemical reacts with air, water, or other materials.
  • A web version of this worksheet is available as part of CAMEO Chemicals, http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/. (Accessed 01/07/09).
  • Permits virtual "mixing" of chemicals to find out what dangers could arise from accidental mixing.
  • Build a temporary list of chemicals and predict reactivity online.

Rutgers Laboratory Safety and Environmental Programs.

  • Chemical Compatibility Chart. (Accessed 01/07/09). A chart adapted from CRC Laboratory Handbook listing various chemicals in 23 groups with examples of incompatibility.
  • http://rehs.rutgers.edu/lswaste_epachem.htm (Accessed 01/07/09). Provides a summary table of EPA-600/2-80-076 April 1980 A METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE COMPATIBILITY OF CHEMICAL MIXTURES. Gives names of chemical classes with which the chosen class is incompatible. View EPA's Chemical Compatibility Chart to get details on the characteristics of a possible chemical reaction.

Emergency Responders Guide to Chemical Reactivity & Compatibility. Donald Drum, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2002.
Chemistry Library Reference: T55.3 H3 D78 2002

Wiley guide to chemical incompatibilities. Richard P. Pohanish, Stanley A. Greene. Wiley, 2003.
Wendt Library, 2nd Floor: T55.3 H3 P647 2003

Chemicals

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA/EPA Occupational Chemical Database (Accessed 01/07/09)

  • Compilation of information from several government agencies and organizations. Includes: Physical Properties, Exposure Guidelines, NIOSH Pocket Guide (Accessed 01/07/09), and US Department of Transportation 2004 Emergency Response Guidebook (2008 edition, Accessed 10/17/08).

US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

US Department of Health and Human Services. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

US Environmental Protection Agency. TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory - description of the Toxic Substances Control Act (Accessed 01/07/09).

US National Library of Medicine

Michigan State University. NFPA Chemical Hazards Labels - Searchable database of both flammable substances and hazardous chemicals and their National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) ratings as designated in NFPA Standard 704. (Accessed 01/07/09)

American Chemical Society, Committee on Chemical Safety. Chemistry Laboratory Information Profiles (CLIPs) developed for use by teachers and their students courtesy of Journal of Chemical Education. (Accessed 01/07/09).

Boston University. Office of Environmental health and Safety. Time Weighted Average Calculator (Accessed 10/17/08).

  • Use this formula to determine a person's time-weighted average (TWA) for exposure to a chemical. Typically, this is assumed to be an 8-hour period to determine the compliance with OSHA PELs. However, the total time can be decreased to match the actual time of exposure, to calculate the worst-case scenario.

Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards P. G. Urban, 5th edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, London, 1995.
Chemistry Library Reference: T55.3 H3 B73 1995

Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. R. J. Lewis, 10th edition, Wiley-Interscience, 2000.
Wendt Library Reference Collection: T55.3 H3 S3 2000
Chemistry Library Reference: T55.3 H3 S3 1996 (Note: 1996 edition)

Environmental Working Group. Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database - pairs ingredients in products against toxicity and regulatory databases. (Accessed 01/07/09)

Chemical and Biological Agents

US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Chemical Warfare Agents. Environmental Health and Toxicology, National Library of Medicine. http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html (Accessed 01/07/09)

US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Chemical Agent Information (Accessed -1/07/09).

Planning and Preparedness

Chemical Compatibility. Chemical Safety Program, U.S. Department of Energy. (Accessed 01/07/09).
This is a guide to setting up a compatibility chart BEFORE conducting a laboratory experiment.

American Chemical Society, Committee on Chemical Safety. Chemical Storage Resources. (Accessed 01/07/09).

CRC Handbook of Laboratory Safety. A. Keith Furr, 5th edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2000.
Chemistry Library Reference: QD51 H27 2000

United Nations. Office on Drugs and Crime. Guidelines for the Safe Handling and Disposal of Chemical used in the Illicit Manufacture of Drugs. New York, 2006. http://www.unodc.org/pdf/publications/st-nar-36.pdf (Accessed 01/07/09)
Chemistry Library: TP 150 S24 U55 2006

US Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Management Guide for Small Laboratories (pdf) (Accessed 01/07/09)

US Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Laboratories: Standards. http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/laboratories/standards.html (Accessed 01/07/09)

  • Contains OSHA standards, standard interpretations (official letters of interpretation of the standards), and national consensus standards related to laboratories.

Handbook of Chemical Health and Safety. R. J. Alaimo, Ed., American Chemical Society, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001.
Chem Library Reference: T55.3 H3 H344 2001

Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide. Margaret-Ann Armour. 3rd edition. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Fla. 2003.
Chemistry Library Reference: QD64 A76 2003

  • Includes information on disposal of small quantities of a large variety of chemical wastes. Each entry includes physical, chemical and physiological properties, hazardous reactions, and spill and waste disposal procedures.

Laboratory Health and Safety Dictionary. W. Carl Gottschall, Douglas B. Walters. Wiley-Liss, New York, 2001.
Chem Library Reference: QD63.5 G67 2001

  • Appendix A is an excellent list of abbreviations and acronyms.

Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals. National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1995. Available through Knovel
NetLibrary Electronic Book: Search MadCat.
Chem Library: T55.3 H3 P78 1995

  • Chemical safety information for a limited number of chemicals, including lists of classes of incompatible chemicals, partial lists of incompatible combinations of specific chemicals, tables of compounds known to auto-oxidize to form peroxides, and a table on classes of chemicals that can form peroxides upon aging.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Section 16: Health and Safety Information. online.
Chem Lib Ready Ref shelf: latest edition

Training

Howard Hughs Medical Institute is longer distributing materials and videos related to laboratory safety. (Accessed 01/07/09)

University of Minnesota. Hazardous Chemical Waste Management Guidebook. (Accessed 01/07/09).

UW-Madison Web Sites

UW-Madison Chemistry Department. Safety (Accessed 01/07/09).

UW-Madison Environment, Health and Safety Department (Accessed 01/07/09)

UW-System Safety and Loss Prevention - Occupational Safety and Health. (Accessed 01/07/09).

Article Databases

Use Find It to locate an electronic journal (includes journals cataloged in MadCat, plus many more) and/or an article if you have the citation. See Chemistry Journals for more information.
  • Beilstein/Gmelin- use Fact Editor to limit to toxicological data
  • Knovel Engineering & Scientific Online References - Limit search to SAFETY & INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE subject area for quick retrieval.
  • PubMed - Use MeSH toxicity [Subheading] with drugs and chemicals for ill effects.
  • Scifinder Scholar - Limit substance search to Adverse Effects. Also, CHEMLIST database identifies chemical substances on domestic and international chemical inventories and regulatory lists from America, Asia, and Europe.