By Veronica Marrero, Regulatory Compliance Specialist
Many times, Section 10 of a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is comprised of ambiguous statements, something you want to steer clear of in hazard communication. The best way to communicate the information most accurate to the product in Section 10 is with test data. However, this may not always be feasible.
Additionally, when purchasing raw materials from a supplier, it is standard practice to carry over the Section 10 information from the raw material SDS. If you’re not comfortable using the raw material SDS, there are ways to deduce appropriate, clear statements for Section 10.
Section 10 information is essentially split into 6 parts – Reactivity, Chemical Stability, Possibility of Hazardous Reactions, Conditions to Avoid, Incompatible Materials, and Hazardous Decomposition Products.
Below are some brief tips on how to construct cohesive Section 10 statements:
- For pure substances, the REACH registration can provide insight on decomposition as well as other stability and reactivity information.
- For mixtures, consider the properties of the substances within the mixture and how they behave in the final product.
- Knowing the chemical structure of the material can aid in deducing the necessary information.
- It is important to consider the use of the product, not just the product as it is manufactured.
- Using other sections:
- Section 5 gives us the fire-related hazards that can provide information on things like conditions to avoid, incompatible materials, and hazardous decomposition products.
- Section 7 contains handling and storage information, which can be useful in determining incompatibility, conditions to avoid, reactivity, and the possibility of hazardous reactions.
- Section 9 data, where available and accurate, is a key element in deriving stability and reactivity statements.
GSM is committed to helping you navigate safety data sheets and stay compliant. Please contact GSM to find out how we can help.
