Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

Whenever products are ordered through our Purchasing department, a request for a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is made for any product that is controlled by WHMIS regulations.

A Material Safety Data Sheet is always shipped with the product, unless a previous shipment had already been sent with one.

When the product arrives in Shipping and Receiving, the order is inventoried and any MSDS’s are given to Connie Cyrull (Mail Services) to record and forward to the department that initiated the order. 

Each department has a yellow binder, marked with MSDS on the end to keep their sheets in. The binder is kept in a location where everyone that handles hazardous product(s) has access to it .

Master files are maintained for all the MSDS’s for UCFV, as well as a database detailing products, suppliers, locations and expiry dates for every MSDS on file.

The sheets need to be current for controlled products and have a review date of every three years. When the sheets expire, requests for updates are sent to the supplier and then forwarded to the various departments when received.  If the sheets are going to your department directly from the supplier, they will not be on the list and will not be updated.

Please contact Connie Cyrull at local 4214, Room D122, if you have any questions or concerns about Material Safety Data Sheets.

WHMIS

The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) is Canada's hazard communication standard. The key elements of the system are cautionary labeling of containers of WHMIS "controlled products", the provision of material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and worker education programs.

WHMIS is implemented through coordinated federal, provincial and territorial legislation. Supplier labeling and MSDS requirements are set out under the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and associated Controlled Products Regulations. The Hazardous Products Act and its regulations are administered by the Product Safety Bureau of the Government of Canada Department of Health, commonly referred to as Health Canada.

Each of the thirteen provincial, territorial and federal agencies responsible for occupational safety and health have established employer WHMIS requirements within their respective jurisdiction. These requirements place an onus on employers to ensure that controlled products used, stored, handled or disposed of in the workplace are properly labeled, MSDSs are made available to workers, and workers receive education and training to ensure the safe storage, handling and use of controlled products in the workplace.

WHMIS balances workers' right-to-know with industry's right to protect confidential business information and includes a mechanism for ruling on claims for exemption from disclosure of confidential business information as well as appeals to these rulings.

For more information or assistance, please contact Connie Cyrull.