Is your company handling dangerous substances safely?
Methanol is one of the most basic and common chemicals used in everyday life. With its many uses, from cleaning products to clothes, it’s no wonder that the industry has a combined production capacity of 110 million metric tons.
Despite this, methanol is a hazardous waste. Exposure can result in dizziness, diarrhea, and cardiopulmonary failure. Moreover, leaving the chemical in a heater area can result in an explosion and fire.
To prevent these problems, experts recommend using methanol SDS. An SDS provides information on the harmful effects of mishandling a chemical. Apart from its hazards, it includes safety measures for use, handling, and storage.
Read on and learn how to use safety data sheets for methanol.
1. Substance Identification
In safety data sheets, there are 16 sections stating the proper use, handling, and storage of methanol. Following this guide is crucial as it ensures chemical safety. In the first section, you must identify the chemical.
Substance identification is a crucial step in handling chemicals. In methanol SDS, the information in this section includes its hazardous properties. Knowing what can pose risks encourages proper use or handling.
Apart from the chemical, you must write common names, determine the manufacturer, and which contacts to call if an issue arises. In this section, you must also include the uses of the substance.
2. Hazard Identification
How intense can mishandling methanol get? Like other chemicals, methanol reacts to changes in the environment. It responds to triggers disrupting the initial and transition state.
When methanol gets mixed with air and vapor, an explosion can occur. With hazard identification, you can identify the impact of the properties on flammability and reactivity. It includes how the hazards can affect your health.
In safety data sheets, hazard identification outlines the risks linked to the chemical using an intensity scale. For visual interpretation, you can check the NFPA 704 colored diamond.
3. Ingredient Composition or Information
Ingredient composition or information can determine if a chemical is hazardous or not.
The third section in methanol SDS describes the reagent formulation of the substance. Along with the ingredients, the list identifies if they are hazardous. It gives you an idea of how to use or handle the chemical.
Some safety data sheets are inclusive. You can include every chemical name, formula, and molecular weight for specifications. However, using a patented substance results in incomplete data.
To ensure chemical safety, contact and communicate with the supplier. Doing so allows you to determine the proper use of methanol.
4. First-Aid Measures
Despite the efforts to keep a safe workplace, accidents and injuries can happen. Mishandling methanol exposes people to risks, such as methanol poisoning or fire incidents. When an accident happens, you must know what to do if someone gets hurt.
In methanol SDS, the fourth section presents first-aid measures. You can refer to this part if you do not know how to tend to someone injured due to methanol mishandling.
Remember, you or your colleague is the first responder in cases of exposure or spillage. In employee safety training, your management must include a first aid application.
5. Firefighting Measures
Apart from poisoning, a fire accident is a common problem in places with methanol involved. Heat, vapor, or oxygen exposure can trigger an explosion, leading to a fire accident. Some reagents decompose when burnt, creating secondary intense hazards.
Like in first-aid measures, firefighting measures are crucial. The fifth section covers information on how to control such situations.
In establishments, extinguishing media is necessary. You can keep water mists, foam concentrates, or powders at the point of safety standard. Next, identify physical properties that can cause fire and adjust their setting.
Note specific methanol hazards linked to fire and other hazardous combustion products. Keep equipment used to control fire and contact details of firefighters.
6. Release Measures
Although methanol itself does not pose harm to terrestrial or aquatic life, its spillage can. For this section, the methanol SDS explains how to protect oneself and the environment.
In some cases, this covers instructions for clean-up after a spillage. However, it provides advice to have the appropriate spill kit.
Observe personal precautions by including extra PPE. Carry with you contaminated chemical waste bags you can use during clean-ups. For your spill kit, remember to bring gloves, absorbent things, and neutralizing materials.
7. Handling and Storage
In some cases, people continue to mishandle methanol despite having access to SDS. The seventh section focuses on using, handling, and storing chemical substances. What does this enclose with users of SDS?
This part often notes specific properties. For instance, chemical substances soak up moisture. Moreover, it includes conditions to avoid when handling methanol.
Consider including other crucial points not outlined in the risk assessment.
8. Exposure Controls and Personal Protection
Using safety data sheets reveals the exposure controls and personal protection. It identifies the control parameters and describes the necessary PPE.
Exposure controls state the exposure limits of the product and the workplace. You can use this to develop a plan for avoiding situations that can trigger accidents.
For personal protection, this lists the standard PPE to use and expected engineering controls. Wearing personal protective equipment keeps you safe from the hazards of handling methanol. In the risk assessment, you must confirm the uses and identify adjustments.
9. Physical and Chemical Properties
In some methanol SDS, the physical and chemical properties fall under section one. However, you can find matter composition under the ninth section.
To help you distinguish chemicals, refer to this section for their technical data. It includes the molecular weight, phase change temperature, vapor pressures, and flash point. Moreover, it explains the state of the properties in normal environmental conditions.
10. Stability and Reactivity
Safety data sheets promote proper methanol management. To avoid accidents and injuries, keep the substance under normal environmental conditions. The tenth section focuses on the stability and reactivity of the chemical.
It lists the conditions that make methanol stable and unstable. With this, you become aware of what to do to ensure chemical safety.
To keep methanol stable, keep it under room temperature and standard pressure. Shock and static electricity often shake the chemical. For safety reasons, note these in your risk assessment.
11. Toxicological Information
Do you know what methanol can do to your body? Under the eleventh section, you can find the toxicological information of the chemical. It alerts you of the harmful things methanol can do to your health.
For instance, methanol exposure can target specific organs and make it weak.
What is the relevance of this information when handling methanol? It reveals the potential harm of methanol, encouraging you to take precautions. Under control measures, you must identify steps to avoid this problem.
12. Ecological Information
It is not new information that methanol can harm the environment. With this, you must make an extra effort to know how this substance damages it. The ecological information alerts you to the harm the properties can create.
It includes how the reagent harms the environment and the time it takes to break down. Some harms it creates are low growth rates in plants and the death of animals. To reduce the impact, follow the stated amount of chemicals you can use.
13. Disposal Considerations
Like other chemicals, there is a proper way to dispose of methanol.
Proper waste management can improve the quality of the environment and public health. From plants to humans, this practice benefits living things. Moreover, it addresses concerns under the previous section.
The 13th section describes the disposal of methanol and its contaminated packaging. It covers the appropriate methods to send the chemical to the waste stream. However, check with your supervisor the rules considering the range of legislation.
14. Transport Information
With the risks linked with methanol, there are regulations to follow in shipping them. Transport information identifies the shipping requirements you must apply. When transporting the chemical from the supplier or to an outsider, follow the rules.
One of the practices is securing the substance in tight, sealed packaging. Doing so prevents leakage and accidents along the way. Like in disposal, different rules apply per state.
15. Regulatory Information
When dealing with chemicals, regulatory policies exist. They promote and deliver better social and economic outcomes, improving quality of life. To achieve these, authorities impose rules addressing a few concerns.
It includes safety, health, and environmental regulations not stated in other SDS parts.
16. Other Information
In methanol SDS, the 16th section contains miscellaneous information. It covers and explains any information that does not fit the other 15 sections.
For updates and changes, you can note everything in this section. To streamline operations, install a digital SDS in your system.
Using Methanol SDS in the Workplace
Observing precautionary measures is vital when using, handling, or storing methanol. Considering its hazards, mishandling the chemicals can cause harmful effects. Experts suggest using methanol SDS in the workplace to prevent accidents and injuries.
Are you new to using SDS? At KHA, we offer SDS management services to ensure chemical safety in the workplace by providing reliable help in using SDS. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
