Ask the expert—May I get rid of material safety data sheets for household products?
Q: To clean out my files, may I eliminate material safety data sheets (MSDS) for household products such as soaps and cleaners without incurring an OSHA violation?
A: You can do without MSDS for consumer products commonly used in the workplace if employees use the products according to the label.
OSHA does not require an MSDS for household consumer products when used “in the workplace in the same manner that a consumer would use them, i.e., where the duration and frequency of use (and therefore exposure) is not greater than what the typical consumer would experience,” according to an OSHA fact sheet.
For example, if a worker uses a household glass cleaner only occasionally, no MSDS is necessary. If you have a housekeeping employee who spends eight hours a day cleaning with it, then an MSDS is required.
Go to the Tools page under the hazard communication heading to download the “Determining When an MSDS Is Necessary” flow chart.
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David LaHoda
David LaHoda, the managing editor of Medical Environment Update and OSHA Watch, has produced healthcare training videos and consulted for medical practices and ambulatory healthcare facilities.
David has written 196 posts.
Comments
For CAP compliance, it is acceptable for MSDS information to be electronically available, rather than in book format; there is no requirment for paper-based information. Is this acceptable with OSHA also?
OSHA allows for electronic MSDS files as long as you take into account a back up system in case of emergencies, according to the interpretation Clarification of systems for electronic access to MSDSs. In that interpretation, OSHA defines emergencies as “foreseeable failures in the electronic system such as power outages, equipment failures, on-line access delays, etc., and is not meant to encompass catastrophic events, medical emergencies, or other situations.”
Also, if you are using an electronic system, make sure your staff is trained to access it and that there are no barriers such as personal passwords on computer stations that would prevent ready access.
How about Cal-OSHA? Do they follow the same rule?
Yes, The Cal-OSHA hazard communication standard makes MSDS exclusions for “consumer products, unless quantities used or exposures are greater than ordinary home consumer quantities or exposures.”
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