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MSDS Violations

The WHMIS trade secret exemption mechanism administered by the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission requires that the MSDS accompanying a claim be reviewed against the requirements of the Hazardous Products Act and Controlled Products Regulations. The statistical information shown below outlines the Commission’s findings of MSDS non-compliance for the fiscal years 2003–2004 and 2004–2005.

While the MSDSs reviewed by the Commission cannot be said to represent a random sample of all such documents in use in Canada (estimated to be in the order of some 750,000), there seems little reason to conclude that our findings should not be considered as broadly indicative of the state of MSDS compliance in general.

The term “violation occurrence” is used in the quantification of the Commission’s MSDS review findings. For example, a missing acute lethality value for a hazardous ingredient counts as one violation occurrence. Similarly, if two such values associated with the same ingredient are undisclosed, or if a value has not been disclosed for two hazardous ingredients, there would be two violation occurrences counted in each case.

In general, it is important to note that the amount of information “available” for disclosure on a MSDS can vary substantially. For example, a LD₅₀(oral) value is more likely, compared to an LC₅₀(inhalation) value, to have been determined for a given hazardous ingredient.

Aggregate multi-year MSDS violation statistics have been published for several years in the Commission’s Annual Report.

Violation Category	Number of Violation Occurrences
Violation Category	2004–2005	2003–2004
Hazardous ingredients (See Note 1)
Chemical identity not disclosed	50	51
Chemical identity incorrectly disclosed	4	24
CAS registry number not disclosed	30	27
Concentration not disclosed	53	64
Concentration incorrectly disclosed	25	33
Concentration ratios missing or incorrect	92	14
LD₅₀ (oral) not disclosed	112	123
LD₅₀ (dermal) not disclosed	28	26
LC₅₀ (inhalation) not disclosed	52	40
Generic chemical identity
(For the claimed trade secret ingredient)	12	27
Preparation information
(Preparer’s name, telephone number, date of preparation—at least one missing)	147	132
Product information
Manufacturer—supplier identity, etc.	11	8
Product use	17	8
Physical data
Odour & appearance	70	–
Other	9	91
Fire or explosion hazard
Flash points	10	9
Hazardous combustion products not disclosed	48	103
Reactivity data
Stability	–	1
Incompatibility	101	29
Hazardous decomposition products not disclosed	6	17
Toxicological properties (See Note 2)
Route of entry	15	8
Effects of acute exposure	119	90
Effects of chronic exposure	127	143
Exposure limits	85	117
Irritancy	16	39
Corrosivity	21	2
Sensitization (dermal)	10	4
Sensitization (respiratory)	2	20
Carcinogenicity	16	12
Reproductive toxicity	17	6
Development toxicity	64	67
Mutagenicity	67	69
Synergism	18	18
Preventive measures
Leak/spill procedures	–	1
Waste disposal	–	2
Handling procedures	4	5
Storage	–	9
First aid measures (See Note 3)
Aspiration risk	37	45
Remove advice to administer water in cases of ingestion	80	97
CPR	55	98
Eye contact measures	56	29
Skin contact measures	84	92
Hazard classification (See Note 4)
Class B	2	–
Class D1	36	35
Class D2	29	28
Class E	13	8
Format—wording	36	57
Headings	70	6
Registry number—date of filing	147	94
Total	2,103	2,028
Number of claims—controlled products	245	225
Average number of violation occurrences per claim	8.6	9
Notes: Violation occurrences in the hazardous ingredients category accounted for approximately 20% of the total MSDS problems found in each of the two years covered by this report. 1. Violations associated with toxicological properties represented 27% and 29% (2004–2005 and 2003–2004, respectively) of the total MSDS problems found. 2. Taking the two years covered by this report in total, over half of the undisclosed toxicological effects of acute exposure involved ingestion as a route of entry. 3. For the two years covered by this report, approximately 45% of all violation occurrences relating to “Effects of acute exposure”, for all routes of entry, involved the failure to disclose adverse CNS effects. 4. With respect to violations related to undisclosed “Effects of chronic exposure” in 2003–2004, almost three quarters of these involved inhalation as a route of entry, whereas in 2004-2005, almost all were associated with ingestion and inhalation, in near equal fashion. 5. For both years covered by this report, violation occurrences in relation to the “Effects of chronic exposure” were spread over a wide variety of toxicological effects. 15% (2004–2005) and 18% (2003–2004) of the MSDSs violation occurrences were found in the first aid measures category. WHMIS hazard classification information does not have to be disclosed on an MSDS. However, such information must be accurate if it is shown. MSDS inaccuracies in this category should draw attention of the claimant to possible label problems of a related nature e.g. the accuracy of mandatory hazard symbols.

Last Updated: 2006-05-15

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