material safety data sheet (MSDS)

A material safety data sheet (MSDS) is a form that reports on the properties of a particular a material or chemical substance (chemical, chemical compound, chemical mixture), how to use it safely, and what to do if there is an emergency.

Its purpose it to provide workers and emergency personnel with safe procedures for handling and working with a particular substance; accordingly, workers using a substance, supervisors, firefighters, doctors, occupational hygienists, safety supervisors, engineers, and environmental specialists may all refer to an MSDS in the course of their daily work. MSDSs are often posted in workplaces for employees' reference and are distributed to local hospitals, emergency response agencies, and fire departments.

An MSDS typically includes the following information about a particular substance:

physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.)
toxicity
health hazards.(For example, skin contact with strong acids causes burns.)
fire hazards. (For example, propane can easily burn and may explode.)
reactivity hazards. (For example, mixing ammonia and household bleach will result in the release of a harmful gas.)
the environmental impact of the material if it is released to the environment
proper storage and disposal
recommended protective equipment
spill-handling and first aid procedures

MSDS formats can vary from between countries depending on national requirements.

An MSDS is also known as a safety data sheet (SDS) or a product safety data sheet (PSDS).

The ARCHIBUS MSDS application does not store all of the above information; instead, it focuses on storing MSDS data for sorting, classifying, filtering, and retrieving the MSDS sheets and providing summary analytics on the products. Once the user locates the ARCHIBUS MSDS record, they can link to the manufacturer's web site for a PDF of the complete MSDS provided by the manufacturer.