Appendix A. Common Safety Symbols
Appendix B. National Fire Protection Association Hazard Labels
Appendix C. Substances with Greater Hazardous Nature Than Educational Utility
Appendix D. Substances with a Hazardous Nature, But May Have Potential Educational Utility .
Appendix E. Incompatible Chemicals
Appendix F. Recommended Safety and Emergency Equipment for the Laboratory
Appendix G. How Does a Chemical Enter the Body?
Appendix H. What are Exposure Limits?
Appendix I. General Guidelines to Follow in the Event of a Chemical Accident or Spill
Appendix J. Understanding an MSDS
Appendix K. Sample MSDS
Appendix L. Web Site Resources

Appendix M. Glossary

Acid

A substance that dissolves in water and releases hydrogen ions (H+); acids cause irritation, bums, or more serious damage to tissue, depending on the strength of the acid, which is measured by pH.

Acute toxicity

Adverse effects resulting from a single dose, or exposure to a substance for less than 24 hours.

Allergy

An exaggerated immune response to a foreign substance causing tissue inflammation and organ dysfunction.

Asphyxiant

A substance that interferes with the transport of an adequate supply of oxygen to the body by either displacing oxygen from the air or combining with hemoglobin, thereby reducing the blood’s ability to transport oxygen.

Base

A substance that dissolves in water and releases hydroxide ions (OH-); bases cause irritation, burns, or more serious damage to tissue, depending on the strength of the base, which is measured by pH.

Carcinogen

A substance that causes cancer.

CAS Registry number

An internationally recognized unique registration number assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service to a chemical, a group of similar chemicals, or a mixture.

Ceiling limit

The maximum permissible concentration of a material in the working environment that should never be exceeded for any duration.

Chemical hygiene plan

A written program that outlines procedures, equipment, and work practices that protect employees from the health hazards present in the workplace.

Chemical hygiene officer

A designated person who provides technical guidance in the development and implementation of the Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Chronic toxicity

Adverse effects resulting from repeated doses of, or exposures to, a substance by any route for more than three months.

Combustible liquid

A liquid with a flashpoint at a temperature lower than the boiling point; according to the National Fire Protection Association and the U.S. Department of Transportation, it is a liquid with a flash point of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or higher.

Compatible materials

Substances that do not react together to cause a fire, explosion, violent reaction or lead to the evolution of flammable gases or otherwise lead to injury to people or danger to property.

Compressed gas

A substance in a container with an absolute pressure greater than 276 kilopascals (kPa) or 40 pounds per square inch (psi) at 21 oC, or an absolute pressure greater than 717 kPa (40 psi) at 54 oC.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

An independent U.S. Federal regulatory agency that protects the public against unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with consumer products.

Corrosive

A substance capable of causing visible destruction of, and/or irreversible changes to living tissue by chemical action at the site of contact (i.e., strong acids, strong bases, dehydrating agents, and oxidizing agents).

Department of Transportation (DOT)

U.S. Federal agency that regulates the labeling and transportation of hazardous materials. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) U.S. Federal agency that develops and enforces regulations to protect human health and the natural environment.

Explosive

A substance that causes a sudden, almost instantaneous release of pressure, gas, and heat when subjected to sudden shock, pressure, or high temperature.

Exposure limits

The concentration of a substance in the workplace to which most workers can be exposed during a normal daily and weekly work schedule without adverse effects.

Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA)

The Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C 1261–1278), administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, requires that certain household products that are "hazardous substances" bear cautionary labeling to alert consumers to potential hazards that those products present and inform them of the measures they need to protect themselves from those hazards. Any product that is toxic, corrosive, flammable or combustible, an irritant, a strong sensitizer, or that generates pressure through decomposition, heat, or other means requires labeling, if the product may cause substantial personal injury or substantial illness during or as a proximate result of any customary or reasonable foreseeable handling or use, including reasonable foreseeable ingestion by children.

Flammable

As defined in the FHSA regulations at 16 CFR § 1500.3(c)(6)(ii), a substance having a flashpoint above 20 oF (-6.7 oC) and below 100 oF (37.8 oC). An extremely flammable substance, as defined in the FHSA regulations at 16 CFR § 1500.3(c)(6)(i), is any substance with a flashpoint at or below 20oF (-6.7 oC).

Flashpoint

The minimum temperature at which a liquid or a solid produces a vapor near its surface sufficient to form an ignitable mixture with the air; the lower the flash point, the easier it is to ignite the material.

Hazardous substance

As defined in the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) at 16 CFR § 1500.3(b)(4)(i)(A), any substance or mixture of substances that is toxic, corrosive, an irritant, a strong sensitizer, flammable or combustible, or generates pressure through decomposition, heat or other means, if it may cause substantial personal injury or illness during or as a proximate result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion by children.

Hepatotoxin

A chemical that can cause liver damage.

Highly toxic substance

As defined by OSHA (Appendix A of 29 CFR 1910.1200) and in the FHSA regulations at 16 CFR § 1500.3(b)(6)(i), a substance with either (a) a median lethal dose (LD50) of 50 mg/kg or less of body weight administered orally to rats, (b) a median lethal dose (LD50) of 200 mg/kg or less of body weight when administered continuously on the bare skin of rabbits for 24 hours or less, or (c) a median lethal concentration (LC50) in air of 200 parts per million by volume or less of gas or vapor, or 2 mg/L by volume or less of mist or dust, when administered by continuous inhalation for one hour or less to rats.

Ignitable

Capable of bursting into flames; ignitable substances pose a fire hazard

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

An agency of the World Health Organization that publishes IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans. This publication documents reviews of information on chemicals and determinations of the cancer risk of chemicals.

Incompatible materials

Substances that can react to cause a fire, explosion, violent reaction or lead to the evolution of flammable gases or otherwise lead to injury to people or danger to property.

Ingestion

Taking a substance into the body by mouth and swallowing it.

Inhalation

Breathing a substance into the lungs; substance may be in the form of a gas, fume, mist, vapor, dust, or aerosol.

Irritant

A substance that causes a reversible inflammatory effect on living tissue by chemical action at the site of contact.

Known human carcinogen

A substance for which there is sufficient evidence of a cause and effect relationship between exposure to the material and cancer in humans.

Lacrimation

Excessive production of tears when the eye is exposed to an irritant. LC50 (Median Lethal Concentration 50) The concentration of a chemical that kills 50% of a sample population; typically expressed in mass per unit volume of air.

LD50 (Median Lethal Dose 50)

The amount of a chemical that kills 50% of a sample population; typically expressed as milligrams per kilogram of body weight.

Mutagen

A substance capable of changing genetic material in a cell. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) An organization that provides information about fire protection and prevention and developed a standard outlining a hazard-warning labeling system that rates the hazard(s) of a material during a fire (health, flammability, and reactivity hazards).

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

U.S. Federal agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that investigates and evaluates potential hazards in the workplace. NIOSH is also responsible for conducting research and providing recommendations for the prevention of work-related illness and injuries.

National Toxicology Program (NTP)

U.S. Federal interagency program that coordinates toxicological testing programs, develops and validates improved testing methods, and provides toxicological evaluations on substances of public health concern.

Neurotoxin

A substance that induces an adverse effect on the structure and/or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

U.S. Federal agency that develops and enforces occupational safety and health standards for all general, as well as, construction and maritime industries and businesses in the U.S.

Oxidizer

A substance that causes the ignition of combustible materials without an external source of ignition; oxidizers can produce oxygen, and therefore support combustion in an oxygen free atmosphere.

Peroxide former

A substance that reacts with air or oxygen to form explosive peroxy compounds that are shock, pressure, or heat sensitive.

Permissible Exposure Limit (PELs)

The legally enforceable maximum amount or concentration of a chemical that a worker may be exposed to under OSHA regulations.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Any clothing and/or equipment used to protect the head, torso, arms, hands, and feet from exposure to chemical, physical, or thermal hazards.

pH

A measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a material when dissolved in water; expressed on a scale from 0 to 14.

Radioactive material

A material whose nuclei spontaneously give off nuclear radiation.

Reactivity

The capacity of a substance to combine chemically with other substances.

Reproductive toxicity

Adverse effects on sexual function and fertility in adult males and females, as well as developmental toxicity in the offspring (International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) Environmental Health Criteria 225, Principles for Evaluating Health Risks to Reproduction Associated with Exposure to Chemicals).

Secondary containment

An empty chemical-resistant container/dike placed under or around chemical storage containers for the purpose of containing a spill should the chemical container leak.

Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL)

The maximum concentration to which workers can be exposed for a short period of time (15 minutes).

Systemic

Affecting many or all body systems or organs; not localized in one spot or area.

Teratogen

A substance which may cause non-heritable genetic mutations or malformations in the developing embryo or fetus when a pregnant female is exposed to the substance.

Threshold Limit Value (TLV)

Term used by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) to express the recommended exposure limits of a chemical to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, without adverse effect.

Time Weighted Averages (TWA)

The average concentration to which an average worker can be exposed for a normal, 8 hour workday.

Toxic substance

In general, as defined in the FHSA regulations at 16 CFR § 1500.3(b)(5), any substance (other than a radioactive substance) which has the capacity to produce personal injury or illness to man through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through any surface of the body.

This term is further defined by OSHA and in the FHSA regulations: As defined by OSHA (Appendix A of 29 CFR 1910.1200), a substance with either, a median lethal dose (LD50) of more than 50 mg/kg but not more than 500 mg/kg of body weight administered orally, a median lethal dose (LD50) of more than 200 mg/kg but not more than 1,000 mg/kg of body weight when administered by continuous contact with the bare skin of rabbits, or a median lethal concentration (LC50) in air of more than 200 parts per million but not more than 2,000 parts per million by volume of gas or vapor, or more than 2 mg/L but not more than 20 mg/L of mist, fume, or dust, when administered by continuous inhalation for one hour.

As defined in the FHSA regulations at 16 CFR § 1500.3(c)(2)(i), a substance with either, a median lethal dose (LD50) of 50 mg/kg to 5,000 mg/kg of body weight administered orally in rats, a median lethal dose (LD50) of more than 200 mg/kg but not more than 2,000 mg/kg of body weight when administered by continuous contact with the bare skin of rabbits for 24 hours, or a median lethal concentration (LC50) in air of more than 200 parts per million but not more than 20,000 parts per million by volume of gas or vapor, or more than 2 mg/L but not more than 200 mg/L by volume of mist or dust, when administered by continuous inhalation for one hour or less.

Water reactive material

A substance that reacts with water that could generate enough heat for the item to spontaneously combust or explode. The reaction may also release a gas that is either flammable or presents a health hazard.