This is Part 4 (see earlier posts for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) in a series about the Emergency Response and Spill Prevention Plan, one of the requirements for many businesses located in Marion County wellfields. The Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD) provides a spill plan template which is available here. This fillable pdf template is a short four page plan that allows most businesses to produce a straightforward spill plan that is easy to write and use.
Page 4 of the Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD) Spill Plan template deals with Safety Data Sheets or SDSs.
Safety Data Sheets
A Safety Data Sheet is a Hazard Communication Standard that provides information on chemicals and products. It used to be called the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) but underwent a revision and a name change in 2015 to become the modern SDS. Modern SDS forms have the same sections and information requirements regardless of chemicals, which makes them more uniform and easier to read than the old MSDS.
The MCPHD Spill Plan requires a business to have SDS on-hand for all the chemicals and products they have stored at their facility (except for products used to clean the facility itself).
Why do you need to have SDS and how can they help you as a business owner? An SDS includes information such as the properties of each chemical; the physical, health, and environmental health hazards, and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical. This information is important for a business operator to have on hand to make sure they can store their chemicals and products safely. In the event a spill happens, the SDS will provide information about handling a spill, and what hazards the chemical might pose for employees. Having the SDS readily available for your chemicals is also helpful to emergency personnel if they are called to your facility.
You can easily locate SDS for most items by searching online using the brand and product name combined with the term ‘SDS’. Most companies have them stored on their websites for download as a pdf file. Many retailers of products will also have SDS available on their websites. Having them readily available as an attachment to the Spill Plan, or in a small folder stored next to the Spill Plan, will enable you to be able to refer to them as needed.
That concludes our tips for filling out a MCPHD Spill Plan! If you have further questions about filling out a spill plan, please contact MCWEC for free assistance.
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