Chemical and Safety Data Sheet Management

RE: A detailed guide for managing chemicals or products requiring an Safety Data Sheet (SDS) at Alfred University, and the New York State College of Ceramics (NYSCC) at Alfred.

If an Alfred University School, Division or Department uses and/or stores product(s) or chemical(s) requiring an SDS, then the individual in charge should immediately notify AU EHS by calling x2190 or emailing. The following information will be required by EH&S

  1. The individual(s) responsible for ordering the product(s) or chemical(s)
  2. The individual(s) responsible for maintaining an inventory of the product(s) or chemical(s)
  3. The individual(s) assigned as MSDS Site Administrator(s) for the MSDS Online system
  4. The name of the building and/or physical address where the product(s) or chemical(s) are being used or stored
  5. The area description or room number within the building where the product(s) or chemical(s) are typically stored

Note: Individuals responsible for maintaining the chemical inventory or performing MSDS site administration will require access to a computer with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office Professional software installed and should have experience using this software; if you require installation of this software contact AU Information Technology Services (ITS) at x2222. If there is ever any change in the information provided EHS in items 1 through 5 listed above, immediately notify EHS of those changes by calling x2190 or emailing.

The following sequence of steps is required for the management of chemicals and/or products requiring an SDS:



An inventory of chemicals/products must be performed if not yet completed, this inventory must be conducted annually.

Download a copy of the Chemical Inventory Form (MS Excel spreadsheet)

The completed form must be submitted electronically to EH&S by attaching to an email. The annual deadline for submission to EH&S is June 15th.

The chemical inventory form must be filled-out as completely as possible which includes the following:

  1. Type an "x" or check mark in or next to the box to the left of the form title to denote whether this inventory is for Alfred University (AU) or the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred (NYSCC).
  2. In the "Updated" cell type in the month, day, and year in mm/dd/yy format that the form is electronically submitted to EH&S.
  3. In the "Division" cell type in the name of the Division or Department, consult the AU Directory
  4. In the "Building" cell type in the name of the building where the chemicals/products are typically stored. Use only those building names as they appear on the AU map. If the name of the building does not appear on this map, then provide the common name and the physical address of the building.
  5. In the "Room" cell type in the room number, room name, or brief description of the area where the chemicals/products are stored. For chemicals or products stored in different rooms or areas, you will copy this cell in the row immediately preceding the continuation of the inventory, and modify the information accordingly.
  6. In the "Contact" cell provide the name of the individual in charge of the chemical and product inventory. This information should agree with the information already provided EH&S.
  7. In the "Phone #" cell provide the AU phone number of the person listed in the Contact cell.
  8. In the "Email" cell provide the email address of the person listed in the Contact cell.
  9. In the "Chemical Name" cell type in the product name or chemical name of the product you are inventorying.
  10. In the "CAS #" cell type in the CAS number as it appears on the MSDS if there is one, and only one CAS number associated with this product or chemical. Otherwise leave this cell blank.
  11. In the "Manufacturer Name" cell type in the manufacturer name exactly as it appears in the manufacturer’s MSDS or on the container label for the chemical or product. If the chemical or product was prepared by an Alfred University or NYSCC at Alfred division or department or the manufacturer’s label is no longer readable (a new 3/3/2015 label downloaded should have already been affixed prior to inventory); type in the name of the Lab Supervisor or Principle Investigator (LS/PI) of the lab or area where the chemical/product was prepared.
  12. In the "Date Rec" cell type in the date that the product or chemical was received in the division/department if known. If the receipt date is not known (research should be done to establish this date if possible), then place the date you first conducted the inventory of the item in this cell using the MM/DD/YY format. This cell should not be left blank and once established should not be changed as long as that chemical/product remains in the inventory.
  13. In the "Exp Date" cell type in the expiration date of the chemical/product if applicable. If it is a chemical/product with an expected shelf-life, and the expiration date is unknown, then type in one year from the date assigned when the inventory was first conducted in the MM/DD/YY format. This cell should not be left blank and once established should not be changed as long as that chemical/product remains in the inventory.
  14. In the "Quantity" cell type in the reasonably estimated weight or volume remaining in the container. Example: A container of Sodium Bisulfate with a net weight of 500g (as noted on the container label) has about ¼ or 25% of the contents remaining. Multiply 500 by 0.25 and the result is 125. You would type 125 in this cell.
  15. In the "Quantity Unit" cell type the English or Metric unit of measure abbreviation for the amount recorded in the Quantity cell. Some standard unit of measure abbreviations for weight and volume are: English: gr. = grain, oz. = ounce, lb. = pound, T. = ton, fl. oz. = fluid ounce, pt. = pint, qt. = quart, gal. = gallon. Metric: mcg or µg = microgram, g or gr = gram, kg = kilogram, MT = metric ton, ml = milliliter, l = liter, and kl = kiloliter. If needed, unit conversion charts and a Win XP compatible calculator program which includes unit conversion capability are available.
  16. In the "Hazardous Warning" cell type in either the first warning which appears on the MSDS for the chemical/product (i.e. Inhalation Hazard, Skin Irritant, Poison, etc.), or using the NFPA diamond information if available, type in the highest numbered hazard rating (i.e. Health, Fire, Reactivity, Specific Hazard) along with the associated number of the hazard rating (i.e. Health – 3).
  17. In the "Current MSDS" cell Enter "Yes" if you have an MSDS for this chemical/product. Enter "No" if you do not. If you do not have an MSDS, contact your MSDS site administrator. If you do not know who your MSDS site administrator is contact EHS immediately.
  18. Repeat steps 9 through 16 for every chemical/product being inventoried.

Contact EH&S if there are any questions regarding the completion of the chemical/product inventory. Once the inventory is completed submit an electronic copy of the inventory using the following file name structure: Division or Department name (all lower case)_CI_MM/DD/YY that file is being submitted, i.e. environmentalhealthandsafety_CI_061008.xls. Make certain that the *.xls file extension (MS Excel specific) is included in the file name. Those performing the chemical/product inventory may adjust font size, column width or row height, and copy additional blank rows as needed within the spreadsheet, however, there should be no changes made to the font style (Arial), form headers, cell formatting, or printer set-up within the form prior to electronic submission.

SDS's will be managed at Alfred University and the New York Sate College of Ceramics at Alfred in accordance with the following instructions:

The individual(s) assigned as MSDS Online Site Administrator(s) will contact and schedule a training session with EH&S. An alphabetized, indexed binder copy of SDS's is to be maintained within the respective division/department if there is no computer access in the immediate vicinity of the storage location of the chemicals/products requiring an SDS. A copy of the chemical inventory must also be included in the front of the SDS binder. The MSDS Online database will still need to be maintained however, even if the storage area has no computer in the vicinity. Label information which can be affixed to a computer used to locate and view SDS's can be downloaded from the EH&S website. Instructions for viewing SDS's can also be found at the bottom of the following web page. A division/department or lab storing chemicals/products requiring SDS’s must assign an MSDS Online Site Administrator who maintains the AU online database of SDS's.