A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is designed to provide both workers and emergency personnel with the proper procedures for handling or working with a particular substance. MSDS's include information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill/leak procedures.

Chemical manufacturers as well as process and discrete manufacturers, are required to assess the hazards of chemical which they produce, import and incorporate into a final products. They must provide information to their employees about the hazardous chemicals to which they are exposed, by means of a hazard communication program, labels and other forms of warning, material safety data sheets (MSDS), and information and training.

Distributors and manufacturers are also required to transmit MSDS/ SDS and labeling information to their customers who are employers. This is called a "downstream flow" of information that assures that each subsequent employer who receives the hazardous material is apprised of the hazards.

Companies which blend or mix chemicals comply with the standard by transmitting the relevant label/MSDS for the components of their mixture (which they, in turn, received in good faith from their suppliers) to their downstream customers.

Atrion International is a leader in providing product compliance solutions including high quality, outsourced Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS / SDS) to assist companies in meeting their global regulatory requirements. The company creates, analyzes, and manages globally compliant MSDS / SDSs, product labels and support the creation of Chemical Safety Reports for companies with the highest quality standards.

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