Lab Safety Series: GHS and Safety Data Sheets

This course explains how to use Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) as a critical laboratory hazard communication tool. Participants will learn how to navigate the standardized 16-section SDS format, identify essential hazard information before working with a chemical, and use SDSs to make informed decisions about personal protective equipment (PPE), safe handling, storage, incompatibilities, spill response, first aid, and emergency planning. The course also covers OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, GHS hazard classification and labeling, exposure-limit terminology, workplace and secondary container labeling requirements, employee rights, and lessons learned from real laboratory incidents.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard and the role of GHS in laboratory hazard communication
• Describe the standardized 16-section format of an SDS
• Identify key information in an SDS before handling a chemical
• Determine appropriate PPE, storage, handling, spill response, and first aid measures using SDS information
• Differentiate between physical hazards and health hazards used in hazard classification
• Recognize key GHS label elements, including signal words, pictograms, hazard statements, and precautionary statements
• Explain workplace and secondary container labeling requirements, including the immediate-use exception
• Define common exposure-limit terms, including PEL, TLV, and REL
• Describe employee rights under Hazard Communication, including access to SDSs, training, and the right to know about workplace chemical hazards
• Analyze lessons from real laboratory incidents where SDS information and incompatibility awareness were critical