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MSDS Violations

A material safety data sheet (MSDS) is required to be fully compliant with the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and the Controlled Product Regulations (CPR), when a claim for trade secret exemption is submitted to the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission (HMIRC). Therefore, in its review of such documents, HMIRC identifies all violations (that is, errors and omissions on an MSDS) with respect to the requirements of the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and the Controlled Product Regulations (CPR). The table below shows the average percentage of violations identified by HMIRC in the various categories on an MSDS, over a four-year period ending in 2007-2008. Approximately 60.1% of the violations were related to errors and omissions in the following 3 categories: toxicological properties (31.9%), hazardous ingredients (15.2%) and first aid measures (13.0%). Complete and accurate information on an MSDS in these categories is very important for the protection of the health of workers and for the use of the proper first aid measures in case of an accident.

Violation Category Number of Violation Occurrences
05‑06 06‑07 07‑08
Hazardous ingredients      
Chemical identity not disclosed 72 51 72
Chemical identity incorrectly disclosed 53 51 9
CAS registry no. not disclosed 40 68 157
Concentration not disclosed 64 35 153
Concentration incorrectly disclosed 55 46 12
Concentration ratios missing or incorrect 49 6 43
Generic chemical identity      
(For the claimed trade secret ingredient) 43 53 106
Preparation information      
(Preparer’s name, telephone number, date of preparation—at least one missing) 232 237 251
Product information      
Manufacturer—supplier identity, etc. 34 4 9
Product use 21 11 8
Physical data      
Odour & appearance 72 64 75
Other 23 28 10
Fire or explosion hazard      
Flash points 8 18 10
Hazardous combustion products not disclosed 50 34 99
Reactivity data      
Stability 1 2 11
Incompatibility 90 12 4
Hazardous decomposition products not disclosed 16 19 53
Toxicological properties      
LD50 (oral) not disclosed 121 54 113
LD50 (dermal) not disclosed 55 24 59
LC50 (inhalation) not disclosed 74 35 47
Route of entry 24 14 17
Effects of acute exposure 130 47 190
Effects of chronic exposure 119 31 74
Exposure limits 76 41 109
Irritancy 14 5 5
Corrosivity 18 17 10
Sensitization (dermal) 11 7 3
Sensitization (respiratory) 13 15 3
Carcinogenicity 18 3 7
Reproductive toxicity 9 13 0
Development toxicity 83 29 51
Mutagenicity 64 31 33
Synergism 21 6 12
Preventive measures      
Leak/spill procedures 2 0 0
Waste disposal 1 1 0
Handling procedures 6 4 10
Storage 5 1 2
First aid measures      
Aspiration risk 52 37 11
Remove advice to administer water in cases of ingestion 83 48 44
CPR 65 32 20
Eye contact measures 84 58 33
Skin contact measures 56 64 64
Other 30 10 12
Hazard classification      
Class B 11 0 3
Class D1 30 15 26
Class D2 25 24 26
Class E 10 14 13
Format—Wording 57 82 104
Headings 52 41 54
Registry Number—Date of Filing 263 59 58
Total 2,605 1,601 2,288
Number of claims—controlled products 298 192 284
Average number of violation occurrences per claim 8.7 8.34 8.06
Date Modified: 2008-12-23

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