Material Safety Data Sheets - Instructions

Overview

Material Safety Data Sheets can now be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Risk Management and Safety (RMS) Web page or by going to the following:

MSDSs can be located by utilizing the “Browse” or “Search” functions. The following instructions will explain in more detail how to carry out these functions and help you find the MSDS you are looking for. In order to view the MSDSs, you need Adobe Reader installed. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

Browse Function

The Web page is first displayed in a collapsed view showing each letter of the alphabet. This allows a user to “Browse” through the letters of the alphabet to find a particular product name. To expand each letter, click on the blue arrow to the left of the letter desired.

A
B

MSDS files are then expanded one additional letter to display existing choices:

A

AA
AB
AC

To expand “AB”, click on the arrow to the left of the letters. All MSDSs on file with product names starting with “AB” will be displayed. To view any particular MSDS simply click on the product name. To return to the collapsed view, use the “collapse” button or “browse” button.

The “Previous Page” and “Next Page” buttons can be used to navigate forward and backwards in both the expanded and collapsed view.

Product names are listed in alphabetical order without any reference to numbers or special characters before them. For example, the following listing is in the sequential order in the Browse Function:

Search Function

Searches can be conducted by using any or all of the options listed. The options are the Product Name or Common Name of an item, the CAS Number, or the Manufacturers Name.

To conduct a search, click on the “Search” button. You will see the following screen:

Enter the information you are looking for and click on the box labeled “Search”. A link to the MSDS will then be displayed for those items. For example, if you searched for the word “form”, the program will search all MSDSs that have the word “form” in the Product Name Field or Synonym Field of the MSDS. So, one of the results you would get would be “formaldehyde” since it contains the word “form”.

All Search results display the Product Name, CAS Number, Document Date of the MSDS and the Manufacturer's Name. Due to size limitations, synonyms will not be displayed, but they will be searched. Results are shown in alphabetical order with numbers and special characters appearing first. For example, when conducting a search of “benzene”, the following results:

Home Button

The “Home Button” will return you to the RMS Web Site homepage.

Help

In the event you can not find the MSDS you are looking for or encounter any other problem with the data on the website, please call the Chemical Inventory Specialist at extension 5-4861. If you experience trouble with the website you may call the Chemical Inventory Specialist or the Systems and Applications Help Desk at extension 5-1389.