Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are a key to chemical safety safety, providing information on the hazards associated with chemicals and the precautions required for their handling, storage, emergency response and disposal.

The SDS deliver safety working together with labelling of containers. The SDS provides more detailed information than, the product label. But the label is more visible and immediately accessible, while the SDS provides the supporting detail.

When examining issues with SDS, it is important to consider labelling as well. Organisations often have the required SDS available—possibly dog-eared and covered in workshop grime—but fall short when it comes to ensuring containers are correctly labelled.