Lee Sewon, Povey Andrew, Seed Martin, van Tongeren Martie
Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, 4th Floor, Ellen Wilkinson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
Heliyon. 2024 Aug 3;10(15):e35763. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35763. eCollection 2024 Aug 15.
Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are used to inform downstream users of any hazardous substances in chemical products and advise on how to manage the risks from using these products. It is therefore important that information on the SDS is accurate and consistent. This study investigates the accuracy and consistency of hazard information included in the SDSs of cleaning products used in the healthcare sector in England and Wales. Data on cleaning products used in the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales and their chemical composition and any hazard information (as H-statements) were collected from the products' SDSs obtained from the NHS supply online catalogue. By each hazard, mainly respiratory hazards, the number of hazardous substances specified as hazardous in all SDSs was identified. Moreover, we investigated hazard characteristics of substances identified by only SDS (at least one SDS) or only through Harmonised Classifications and Labeling (CLH) or by SDS and through CLH simultaneously. In total, 229 unique chemical substances were found in 473 cleaning products' SDSs. All 4 respiratory sensitisiers were identified in all SDSs and through CLH. However, only 14 of the 25 respiratory irritants (56.0 %) were consistently labelled across all SDSs. Although respiratory irritation characteristics of 3 substances were classified through CLH, it was not identified by any of the relevant SDSs. Substantially incorrect and inconsistent health hazard information for the same substances was identified across SDSs. Therefore, healthcare workers and their managers may not receive accurate information on the presence of and potential for exposure to hazardous substances in the cleaning products they are using.
安全数据表（SDS）用于告知下游用户化学产品中的任何有害物质，并就如何管理使用这些产品带来的风险提供建议。因此，SDS上的信息准确且一致非常重要。本研究调查了英格兰和威尔士医疗保健部门使用的清洁产品SDS中包含的危害信息的准确性和一致性。从英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）在线供应目录中获取的产品SDS中收集了英格兰和威尔士NHS使用的清洁产品及其化学成分和任何危害信息（作为H语句）的数据。针对每种危害，主要是呼吸危害，确定了所有SDS中指定为危险的有害物质数量。此外，我们调查了仅通过SDS（至少一份SDS）或仅通过协调分类与标签（CLH）或同时通过SDS和CLH识别出的物质的危害特征。在473种清洁产品的SDS中总共发现了229种独特的化学物质。所有4种呼吸致敏剂在所有SDS中以及通过CLH都被识别出来。然而，25种呼吸刺激物中只有14种（56.0%）在所有SDS中都得到了一致标注。尽管有3种物质的呼吸刺激特性通过CLH进行了分类，但在任何相关SDS中都未识别到。在不同的SDS中发现了针对同一物质的大量不正确且不一致的健康危害信息。因此，医护人员及其管理人员可能无法获得关于他们正在使用的清洁产品中有害物质的存在情况和接触可能性的准确信息。
