Who Uses An MSDS Database And Why

The handling of chemicals in the world is beset with various occupational hazards. Some of the chemicals are corrosive or inflammable, so various precautions need to be used in their handling by workers, employees, and technicians. This is where an MSDS database, its management system software, and various material safety data sheets (MSDSs) come into the picture.

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You will find that an MSDS (material safety data sheet) database is used by various organizations in the world that use chemicals in a big way. Such organizations include chemical laboratories, and various research organizations engaged in chemical engineering research. Its use is also made by the US National Toxicology Program and virtually any other organization that handles pesticides, medicines, and hazardous and corrosive chemicals.

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Such employees include fire fighters, emergency room personnel, hazardous material crews, emergency medical technicians, and bomb disposal squads. The presence of the MSDS database in their organization helps them know about the hazards they may be subject to and the precautions they need to take to safely handle the hazardous materials.An MSDS database is meant for the use of employees, who are exposed occupationally to a hazard at work because of certain materials that they come into contact with, those that they handle, or those whose environment they may work in. An MSDS comes in useful to enable such employees to know the proper methods of storage and transportation of certain hazardous materials. It becomes easy for them to handle hazardous materials through the use of the database.

An MSDS database archive incorporates material safety data sheets in respect of all hazardous materials that the employees are liable to come in contact with. A material safety data sheet includes information on a specific hazardous material. Such information may pertain to the physical properties of the material. The physical properties generally include information on the boiling point, melting point, flash point, and the toxicity data associated with the material.

MSDS databases are not meant for the use of consumers. It is meant for the occupational safety of employees handling hazardous chemicals. This is because a consumer uses a specific hazardous material only for a short duration and maybe only once a year. On the other hand an employee comes into daily contact with hazardous materials.

As per law, the US OSHA (occupational safety and health association) has made it compulsory for organizations that handle hazardous materials to maintain an MSDS database on their computers. Moreover, it has also made it compulsory for such organizations to train their employees on the use of the MSDS database before they handle hazardous materials.

The management software for MSDS databases is available from many vendors at a price that depends on the features of the software. Some of these applications are available online in the form of Web-based software as a service. Web-based MSDS database management software is especially useful for organizations that work in distributed environments.