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.

• Acros Organics
• Fisher Scientific
• Sigma-Aldrich
• VWR

Vermont SIRI Website. http://hazard.com/msds/ (Accessed 11/29/2011).

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 11/29/11), 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 Title 29 CFR Part 1910.1200 Subpart Z Hazard 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

Cameo Chemicals: Database of Hazardous Materials. Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, NOAA. http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/ (Accessed 11/29/2011).

Includes:

• Database of reactivity information for more than 5,000 chemicals and chemical mixtures. The database includes information about the special hazards of each chemical and about whether a chemical reacts with air, water, or other materials.
• 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 11/29/2011). A chart adapted from CRC Laboratory Handbook listing various chemicals in 23 groups with examples of incompatibility.

Harvard Environmental Health and Safety

• http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/environmental/EPAChemicalCompatibilityChart.pdf (Accessed 11/29/2011). 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. Legend indicates "Consequences" that can be expected when mixing chemical wastes.

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.
2009 edition online (UW-Madison affiliation required): Knovel, Wiley Online Library, Books24X7
2003 edition:
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 11/29/2011)

• Compilation of information from several government agencies and organizations. Includes: Physical Properties, Exposure Guidelines, NIOSH Pocket Guide (Accessed 11/29/2011), and US Department of Transportation 2004 Emergency Response Guidebook 2008 edition, ERG homepage, (contains links to videos) (Accessed 11/29/2011)

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Health and Environmental Research Database (HERO). Contains key studies EPA uses to develop environmental risk assessments for the public. Use Data Finder to search for a specific chemical. (Accessed 11/29/2011)
• ToxRefDB (Toxicity Reference Database). Contains thousands of in vivo animal toxicity studies on hundreds of chemicals. (Accessed 11/29/2011)

US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

• NIOSH Occupational Safety and Health Topics (Accessed 11/29/2011)

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

• ATSDR Toxic Substances Portal - information about toxic substances and how they affect health
• Emergency Response at ATSDR 1- 404 498 0120 (24 hrs/day)

US Environmental Protection Agency. TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory - Section 8 (b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to compile, keep current, and publish a list of each chemical substance that is manufactured or processed in the United States. See How to Access the Inventory. (Accessed 11/29/2011).

US National Library of Medicine

• TOXNET - indexes several NLM databases, including HSDB, Haz-Map, Household Products, and Tox-Map. (Accessed 11/29/2011)
• Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) - Focuses on the toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals. (Accessed 11/29/2011)
• Haz-Map - contains information about the health effects of exposure to chemicals and biologicals at work. (Accessed 11/29/2011)
• TOXMAP - links data from the US EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Superfund Program with GIS information. (Accessed 11/29/2011)

UW-Platteville. NFPA Chemical Hazards Labels - Explanation of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Labels. (Accessed 11/29/2011)

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 11/29/2011).

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 11/29/2011)

Chemical and Biological Agents

US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

• Chemical Agents (Accessed 11/29/2011)
• Bioterrorism Agents/Diseases (Accessed 11/29/2011)

Chemical Warfare Agents. Environmental Health and Toxicology, National Library of Medicine. http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html (Accessed 11/29/2011)

US Department of Homeland Security. 6 CFR Part 27 Appendix A: Chemicals of Interest.
http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185909570187.shtm (Accessed 11/29/2011)

Radiation

Radiation Emergency Medical Management, National Library of Medicine, US Department of Health & Human Services
http://www.remm.nlm.gov/ (Accessed 11/29/2011)

International Atomic Energy Commision (IAEC). Manual for First Responders to a Radiological Emergency (pdf). 2006 (Accessed 11/29/2011)

Planning and Preparedness

Chemical Compatibility. Chemical Safety Program, U.S. Department of Energy. (Accessed 11/29/2011).
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 11/29/2011).

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 11/29/2011)
Chemistry Library: TP 150 S24 U55 2006

US Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Management Guide for Small Laboratories (pdf) (Accessed 11/29/2011)

US Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Laboratories: Standards. http://63.234.227.130/SLTC/laboratories/index.html (Accessed 11/29/2011)

• 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.
2011 edition. Chemistry Library Reference: T55.3.H3 P78 2011
1995 edition. Available through Knovel, eBook, Chemistry 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 (UW-Madison affiliation required)
Chem Lib Ready Ref shelf: latest edition

Training

University of Minnesota. Hazardous Chemical Waste Management Guidebook. (Accessed 11/29/2011).

UW-Madison Web Sites

UW-Madison Chemistry Department. Safety (Accessed 11/29/2011).

UW-Madison Environment, Health and Safety Department (Accessed 11/292011)

• Chemical and Environmental Safety: http://www2.fpm.wisc.edu/chemsafety/. (Accessed 11/29/2011).

UW-System Safety and Loss Prevention - Occupational Safety and Health. (Accessed 11/29/2011).

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.

• Reaxys (UW-Madison affiliation required) - use Properties (Advanced) to limit to toxicological data
• Knovel Engineering & Scientific Online References (UW-Madison affiliation required) - can browse Safety & Industrial Hygiene category.
• PubMed - Use MeSH toxicity [Subheading] with drugs and chemicals for ill effects.
• SciFinder Web (UW-Madison affiliation required) - 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.