20 Years of SDS Authoring Mastery

In February 2015, Health Canada amended WHMIS legislation to include the international GHS standards. In 2024, Health Canada and US OSHA amended their hazardous product regulations to newer versions of the Globally Harmonized System. Manufacturers and suppliers now must take steps to review, reclassify products, relabel, and update their Safety Data Sheets.

Harmonizing classifications, SDSs and GHS labels are an improvement for global trade but SDSs still need to be specific to a country or region. Regional differences in classification for a product are common in Section 14 Transportation of the Safety Data Sheet. In Canada, many Oil and Gas companies have seen Transport Canada enforce product classification for the past several years. A properly classified and authored SDS is critical to avoid potential fines and logistical disruption.

A hazardous product for sale in Canada must have an SDS and supplier label available in the official languages of French and English. An English-only SDS arriving from the USA may be challenged based on language for workplaces where the workforce communicates in French as a first language. Chemscape can prepare SDS in 39 different languages. SDS also need to be written according to the legislation of a specific region as there are different cut-off points for classifying hazardous products depending on the GHS version and sections adopted.

If new data becomes available, Canadian or US producers have 90 days / 3 months to communicate this knowledge by sending a written notice and an SDS document to their customers. Supplier Labels need to be updated within 180 days. If classifications, toxicity information, or exposure limits for a product changes, a new SDS might be required.