Hazardous Chemical Inventory Template
Every Approval Holder who uses hazardous chemicals must maintain an up-to-date inventory of the hazardous chemicals used or stored in each laboratory (room by room) through Research Laboratory & Safety Services (RLSS) User Dashboard. These inventories must include the following information:
- The full chemical or product name. Mixtures of hazardous chemicals must be inventoried by listing all the components and their concentrations as well as the matrix solvent.
- The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number, as these are unique identifiers which may help when there are multiple, or confusing, chemical names.
- The storage location where the hazardous chemical is normally kept.
- The maximum quantity expected to be present in the laboratory at any one time (e.g. 5 gallons, 2 kilograms, 500 milliliters, etc.)
Research Laboratory & Safety Services' User Dashboard hazardous chemical inventory screen allows for Approval Holders (AH), Approval Safety Coordinator (ASC), or designated laboratory workers to update their hazardous chemical inventory in real time. Once a laboratory enters its chemical inventory into this system, the User Dashboard automatically provides the hazard information, relevant (M)SDSs, and GHS-compliant container labels for each chemical. Laboratory workers can request the addition of a chemical to the RLSS Chemical Database by completing the Chemical Database Addition Request Form. Once this chemical is available in the database, the AH/ASC or designee must add the chemical to the laboratory inventory through the User Dashboard.
Material Safety Data Sheets
A Material Safety Data Sheet [(M)SDS] provides information on the characteristics and hazards of a chemical. This information includes the hazard statements, pictograms and precautionary statements related to a chemical. The GHS SDS provides a common format for relaying the hazard information about a chemical in the United States and internationally. By December, 2015, manufacturers and distributors of chemicals must not distribute hazardous chemicals unless they are labeled in accordance with the GHS and they have an attached SDS.
Every AH must have a (M)SDS or SDS readily available for every hazardous chemical that may be used or stored in their laboratory/laboratories. As long as the hazardous chemical inventory is kept up-to-date through the RLSS User Dashboard, this requirement is automatically met. If a chemical is in the RLSS Chemical Database, but it does not have an associated (M)SDS, or if a different (M)SDS is needed, the AH/ASC or designee should complete the (M)SDS Database Addition Request Form to request the addition of a (M)SDS to the database.