OSHA regulations require employers to provide employees with safety information on the hazardous materials with which they work. This law also pertains to Federal civilian and military personnel. Manufacturers must provide hazardous material information for all hazardous materials they produce and must make a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) available to the users of each hazardous material.

In the Navy, MSDSs are provided in a computer database on compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) entitled "Hazardous Material Control and Management (HMC&M) System." The CD-ROM contains the Hazardous Material User's Guide (HMUG), Ships' Hazardous Material List (SHML), Shipboard Safety Equipment Shopping Guide, and the Hazardous Material Information System (HMIS), which provides over 70,000 MSDSs for materials used within the DOD.

The MSDS must be available to all users of hazardous materials and their supervisors; therefore, the CD-ROM containing the HMC&M database is provided on board every ship and shore station. The MSDS is used to train hazardous material users on the dangers and precautions of that material. Each MSDS contains the following information:

General information, including an emergency phone number for the material's manufacturer.

Ingredients and identity information.

Physical and chemical characteristics.

Fire and explosion hazard data.

Health and hazard data, including first aid.

Precautions for safe handling and use.

Control measures, including protective equipment.

Transportation data.

    Disposal data.

        Label data.

Your hazardous material control supervisor or hazardous material/hazardous waste coordinator can provide you with an MSDS upon request. Ashore, the MSDSs for each work center are located within the work area. Aboard ship, MSDSs for every item of HM aboard are available either through the HMIS or by hard copy for open purchased items. Supervisors must provide instruction in MSDS understanding and use, and personnel using HM must be trained on the dangers and precautions contained within the MSDS before they actually use those materials.