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Unit: Safety at work

MSAPMOHS200A: Work safely
LMFFL3002A: Establish and maintain a safe flooring technology work environment

Section 1: Safe work procedures

Material safety data sheets


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Every manufacturer of a hazardous substance or product is required to produce a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for it.

The purpose of the MSDS is to tell people how to use the product safely, what the long-term health effects are, and how to deal with environmental care issues, such as spillages and waste disposal.

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You shouldn't have any trouble finding an MSDS for a product, because your own workplace is required to have an MSDS on file for every hazardous product kept on-site.

These are meant to be in an accessible place where workers can go to them at any time.

The link below will take you to the MSDS for Ardex K15 smoothing compound.

Ardex K15 MSDS (pages 1 and 2 of a 14 page document)

You can access the original document from the Ardex Australia website.

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Learning activity

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Choose one hazardous product you use at work and get the container or bag that it comes in. Obtain a copy of the MSDS and answer the following questions.

  1. What is the name of the product?

  2. Where is the MSDS kept?

  3. What types of information are shown on the packaging that are also contained in the MSDS? (Name the subheadings or topics that double up.)

  4. What types of information are not shown on the product packaging but are in the MSDS?
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