The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Office tracks chemical purchases from all vendors to ensure that we receive MSDSs for every hazardous chemical. A copy of a Material Safety Data Sheet for each hazardous chemical used in one of the laboratories at Colgate University will be filed in SB-4 McGregory Hall.
MSDSs or other reference information for particularly hazardous substances should be kept on file in the laboratory or building where they are used. Instructional laboratories should also have MSDS copies on file for the hazardous chemicals frequently used or stored in large quantities in the laboratory. It is the responsibility of the laboratory supervisor to ensure that these MSDS files are maintained and updated.
MSDSs must be reviewed before working with unfamiliar or particularly hazardous chemicals, and should be obtained prior to purchase to properly evaluate substances being considered for use. MSDSs contain information about safe handling and storage procedures as well as personal protective equipment that is required for adequate protection. Laboratory supervisors are responsible for disseminating this information to technicians and students.
If MSDSs are sent or mailed directly to a chemical user, please forward a copy to the EHS Office for the file.
Material Safety Data Sheets are also available on the internet.
A better source of health and safety information for common laboratory chemicals are Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries (LCSSs). The LCSSs provide concise critical discussions of the toxicity, flammability, reactivity, and explosibility of 88 chemicals commonly used in scientific research laboratories. Directions for handling, storage, and disposal and special instructions for first aid and emergency response are given. Since many of these 88 chemicals are representative of a class of potentially hazardous compounds, the LCSSs can also be used as guides to handling many other compounds with related chemical structures. Unlike most Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), the LCSSs are designed especially for laboratory workers.
Last modified: January 01, 1990