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IH: CHEMICAL SAFETY Leveraging Safety Data Sheets for Chemical Safety It’s importance to utilize SDS to strengthen chemical storage and handling procedures. BY KAREN D. HAMEL Using, storing and handling hazardous chemicals safely requires more than finding an empty spot in the warehouse to put them and taking a token glance at the first section of the Safety Data Sheets (SDS). Reviewing five sections of each chemical’s SDS and incorporating the information found in them can make chemical storage and handling procedures safer and more robust. Although the primary focus of any hazardous chemical’s SDS is to communicate health and physical hazards as they relate to an employee’s health, they are also a great source of information for drafting and revising safe storage and handling procedures. In fact, section seven of every SDS is dedicated to handling and storage precautions. Section seven may not always provide the full picture, however. Using the information from it as well as well as information from Idzwan8025/Shutterstock.com other sections helps to ensure that hazards are identified so that they can be properly addressed. It can also help to identify special precautions that need to be taken so that certain chemicals don’t mix. Handling and Storage (Section Seven) Section seven provides more than just guidance on how and where to store hazardous materials. Chemical manufacturers are also required to include handling precautions to help planners reduce safety risks. This is one of the first sections to provide detailed information about chemical incompatibilities and how to avoid interactions during storage and handling. It may list isolation methods or distances that need to be maintained between incompatible materials to reduce risks. 20 Occupational Health & Safety | JUNE 2023 www.ohsonline.com