A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is a critical document to maintain onsite for all chemicals and related products your location has onsite. This sheet is a comprehensive list of details about the chemical. It will include properties of it, including the health and physical hazards associated with it. SDS also includes information about handling, storing, and emergency response for those products. Learn to read SDS sheet information to ensure you know what you are facing.
At Leech Adhesives, you will find the safety data sheet available for all products that we offer. In keeping with compliance, these sheets provide the valuable data you need to ensure proper use, storage, and handling of these products.
What You Need to Know From an Adhesive Safety Data Sheet
Learning to read an SDS sheet is a necessary step for anyone working with adhesive products. Safety data sheets are very specific. That is, they follow a very specific formula for communicating critical information. Anyone who works with commercial-grade adhesive products should have this sheet available to them. If you are just purchasing a product for the first time, review the sheet. Learn the details of the product. Teach those details to the people who will come in contact with or use the product.
What the Sheet Looks Like
A safety data sheet for adhesive products will have several sections, broken down by critical information. The following are the sections and what they communicate:
- Section 1: This section identifies the intended use of the adhesive. It will provide contact information from the supplier. It identifies the chemical by name and property.
- Section 2: Here, you will find a clear list of all hazards known about the chemical. It will list the appropriate warning information you need to know when using the product. It will list each hazard, such as inhalation risk, and the category associated with it. This provides you with the ability to know what to do if there is a risk.
- Section 3: This section outlines what’s in the adhesive, as required under law. This will include the chemical properties, any known impurities, and any stabilizing additives.
- Section 4: This is one of the most important sections to read through with your team. Anyone using it should understand how to treat exposure. This section uses layman’s terms to provide a specific treatment protocol for someone who is not trained to handle the chemical exposure.
- Section 5: This section provides information about how to put out a fire that was caused by or involved the chemical.
- Section 6: The details in this section provide specific instructions on how to handle chemical spills, leaks, or other releases. It will outline how you need to contain that material as well as the surrounding area. It provides steps to both prevent and minimize the exposure of the chemical to people in the area, as well as how to protect the environment and property.
- Section 7: This section outlines the safe handling practices and conditions for the product. When you get a new product in, you should review this information so you know how to properly store the material. Improper storage can lead to exposure risks.
- Section 8: The following section provides more in-depth information, including exposure limits, engineering controls, and personal protective measures to protect workers who might routinely use the adhesive.
- Section 9: This section identifies the physical and chemical properties associated with the product. This section helps you to know how the product reacts to the environment.
- Section 10: This section will include any reactivity hazards the adhesive has to other chemicals, as well as the chemical stability details. This section is quite important, which is why it includes three separate areas: chemical reactivity, chemical stability, and “other” for additional information.
- Section 11: This section identifies all known toxicological factors as well as the health effects of the chemical.
- Section 12: This section includes the known risks associated with the environment if the adhesive is released into the environment.
- Section 13: In this section, you have information about how to get rid of the adhesive if you no longer need to use it. That includes proper disposal, if and when you can recycle it, as well as reclamation of the chemical, if applicable. You should never just toss the product in the trash, but instead use the directions here on how to dispose of the container.
- Section 14: This section outlines the process for shipping and transporting the chemical. For example, it will outline whether you should store it in your car or truck going from one job site to the next.
- Section 15: For this section, you need to know the safety, health, and environmental regulations related to that product, and ensure you remain in compliance in those areas.
- Section 16: This final section provides details on when and how the SDS was created.
Adhesive safety data sheets are not just one piece of paper. They tend to be 15 to 16 pages long, depending on the depth of information about the product.
Technical Data Sheets vs Safety Data Sheets
Another type of documentation available for adhesive products is a technical data sheet (TDS). This sheet provides information about the product’s technical specifications and usage.
Typically, the TDS is necessary for technicians and engineers to use so they can better understand how to use the product in the work they do. The information is product-specific, contains data on physical and chemical properties, and offers application guidelines. It outlines factors like curing time, the density of the product, and the viscosity. These are details that are often directly impactful to the way you plan to use the product. While a TDS is not a legal requirement to have on hand like an SDS, it is still a critical detail that you should have about all of the products you use.
Get the Information You Need Now
You will find all of the SDS sheets for each product we offer at Leech Adhesive available to you. Use it with confidence.
