Material safety data sheet (OSHA Form 174)

Federal law dictates that employers must provide information to their employees about hazardous materials and chemicals that employees may be exposed to in the workplace. The vehicle for that information is the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). While there is no specified format for the MSDS, OSHA has developed a non-mandatory format, OSHA Form 174, which may be used by chemical manufacturers and importers to comply with OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard. You are entitled to receive a data sheet from your supplier.

Here's a blank OSHA Form 174 that shows you what kind of information you need to get from your suppliers and to convey to your employees regarding the chemicals, including the identity, characteristics, and hazard data.

Note that if workers may be exposed to hazardous materials in your workplace, you are required by OSHA to have a written hazard communication program. If, in addition to OSHA Form 174, you would also like a model of such a program that you can customize for your workplace, see the Hazard Communication Program Package at ¶81,290. The package consists of the model program and Form 174.

OSHA Form 174 (Word Document)
osha-Form-174.doc