Potential for improvement in the compliance of safety data sheets

Potential for improvement in the compliance of safety data sheets
Potential for improvement in the compliance of safety data sheets – An EU-wide project by ECHA’s Enforcement Forum found that 35% of safety data sheets (SDS) checked were non-compliant. Compliance has improved compared to previous enforcement projects, but further efforts are needed. To further improve the quality of information to better protect workers, professional users and the environment from the risks of hazardous chemicals.

December 3, 2024 – Inspectors in 28 EU-EEA countries checked more than 2,500 safety data sheets to enforce the new requirements introduced in 2023. The primary objective was to check that the safety data sheet is complete, up-to-date and contains all the relevant information. required information, in particular the new required information. The second objective was to check the quality of the information, its consistency and compliance with legal requirements.

 

35% do not comply

The inspectors found that 35% of the safety data sheets checked did not comply with the legislation. Either because the content did not meet the requirements or because the safety data sheet was not provided at all.

 

The flow of safety data sheets in the supply chain works well

The inspectors also found that the flow of safety data sheets throughout the supply chain works well: In 96% of cases, suppliers provided safety data sheets to recipients when required. In addition, most of the 2,500 safety data sheets were updated to the new format.

 

Lancunes

The biggest challenge with the new information requirements was the lack of information on nanoforms and endocrine disrupting properties. These were missing where required in 67% and 48% of the safety data sheets reviewed respectively. Another relevant finding was that some safety data sheets (16%) did not contain the information required in the authorization decisions.

 

Deficiencies in data quality

The Forum project also reported data quality deficiencies in 27% of the safety data sheets reviewed. The most common problems included incorrect information on hazard identification, composition or exposure controls. In addition, 18% of the safety data sheets reviewed lacked the required exposure scenarios.

 

Enforcement measures

To address non-compliance, inspectors mainly issued written advice, but also used administrative orders and fines and in some cases filed criminal charges.

 

Chairman of the Enforcement Forum Working Group

The Chairman of the Enforcement Forum Working Group, Abdulqadir Suleiman, said: “In recent years, inspectors have seen improvements in chemical suppliers’ compliance with their obligation to provide up-to-date safety data sheets.” These improvements in compliance are due to the harmonized requirements of REACH, the strong efforts of industry, the continued attention of enforcement authorities, but also the dialogue that has taken place several times between enforcement organizations and stakeholder associations to improve the quality of the safety data sheets issued years ago
“However, work still needs to be done to improve the quality of information to ensure better protection of European workers who handle hazardous chemicals in the workplace.”

 

The function of safety data sheets

Safety data sheets are used by chemical suppliers to provide their commercial and industrial customers with information on the properties and risks of chemicals and on their safe handling, storage, use and disposal. The safety data sheets are crucial for the protection of workers. They should be used by employers or downstream user health and safety professionals to carry out risk assessments for chemicals in the workplace as required by health and safety legislation.

 

More information in the safety data sheet since 2023

This project followed an update to the requirements for safety data sheets that have been in force since 2023. The safety data sheet must now include information on nanoforms, endocrine disrupting properties, authorization conditions, UFI codes, acute toxicity estimates, specific concentration limits and several other parameters. This data helps “users” to handle chemicals safely. This change in legal requirements made it necessary to update all safety data sheets with new information.

 

Content of the checks

In addition to checking the data relevant to the new requirements, the inspectors also checked the quality and accuracy of the information in many parts of the safety data sheets. The inspections of this enforcement project were carried out in 28 EEA countries between January and December 2023.

 

Chemeter

Do you want to be sure that your safety data sheets comply 100% with legal obligations? Not only in the EU, but also in the USA, China, India, in short, the whole world. Then use our very user-friendly, legally meticulous and customer-appreciated Chemeter software to create safety data sheets.

 

Further information

 

Source: ECHA
Also read: EFSA recruits scientists for food safety research

 

Reservation
This information has been compiled with the greatest possible care, in some cases from different information sources. (Interpretation) errors are not excluded. No legal obligation can therefore be derived from this text. Everyone dealing with this subject has the responsibility to delve into the matter!

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