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OSHA Hazard Communication Letters of Interpretation
MSDS distribution responsibilities for chemical manufacturers and importers, distributors and retail distributors.
- Issued
- Record type
- Interpretation
- Historical standard
- 1910.1200, 1987 expanded rule (PDF)
- Current standard
- HCS 2024, as amended
ILPI assessment: Core transmission duties retained; use current retail exceptions
This letter addresses the HCS as expanded in 1987, an obsolete version of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). Its main HazCom conclusion remains useful: required SDSs generally accompany the initial shipment and first shipment after an update; a generic one-time letter does not replace the required product information. The HCS does not generally require manufacturers to reimburse distributors' copying costs.
Under the current HCS, apply manufacturer/importer and distributor/retail SDS duties with all applicable request, account, and notification conditions. Do not treat the historical retail summary as the complete modern rule. Container labels must meet shipped-container label elements and Appendix C and any applicable alternatives. The August 1988 proposal mentioned below is historical, not a pending current change; see the downstream FAQ.
Last reviewed: .
About this ILPI assessment
This comparison with current requirements is not a finding that OSHA has formally withdrawn this letter. This assessment reflects editorial judgment informed by human review and AI assistance. It is an opinion, may contain errors or omissions, and is not an official OSHA determination. For guidance on how OSHA requirements apply to your circumstances, contact your local OSHA office.
OSHA's notice about interpretation letters
The following notice is published on OSHA's interpretation pages; it is general guidance, not a letter-specific withdrawal notice.
OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed. Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. Also, from time to time we update our guidance in response to new information. To keep apprised of such developments, you can consult OSHA's website at https://www.osha.gov.
Source: OSHA's original letter page.
December 5, 1988
Mr. Robin W. Grover
Keck, Mahin & Cate
Attorneys at Law
1730 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006-4706
Dear Mr. Grover:
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This is in response to your letter of September 22, regarding the duties of distributors of products covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) 29 CFR 1910.1200.
In your letter you specifically asked the Agency to respond to two "proposed aspects of compliance by bearing distributors with the Hazard Communication Standard." Our responses are numbered in the sequence in which the questions were posed.
Proposal 1: That chemical manufacturers and importers are required to either provide distributors with one material safety data sheet and label per each product shipped or that they must reimburse distributors for the costs of necessary duplication of material safety data sheets and labels.
Answer: According to 29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(6) the responsibilities of chemical manufacturers or importers are to ensure that distributors are provided with an appropriate material safety data sheet with their initial shipment, and with the first shipment after a data sheet is updated. The standard does not compel manufacturers to supply material safety data sheets with each product shipped or to reimburse distributors of the products for duplication costs. The standard does require chemical manufacturers to ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals is labeled.
Proposal 2: Alternatively, a finding that bearing distributors meet their obligations under HCS by sending a one-time letter (with appropriate updates) to each of their customers containing the information required by the HCS (rather than one material safety data sheet per product shipment).
Answer: Distributors are required to provide material safety data sheets in the same manner that chemical manufacturers and importers are. The material safety data sheet must be provided to commercial customers with the initial shipment and with the first shipment after a data sheet has been updated. Retail distributors must provide, upon request, material safety data sheets to commercial customers and post a sign or otherwise inform them that a material safety data sheet is available. This provision of the HCS was included to prevent the necessity of providing a sheet to each customer of a retail establishment in order to ensure that employers obtained a material safety data sheet. Distributors are not required to provide material safety data sheets to retail distributors that do not sell the product to commercial customers or open the sealed containers. The Monday, August 8, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register, proposes a modification of paragraph (g)(7) of the standard which will clarify the duties of distributors in providing material safety data sheets to be the same as those for manufacturers and importers.
[ILPI note: At issuance: 1910.1200, 1987 expanded rule (PDF). This proposed rule is historical. Current counterparts: manufacturer/importer and distributor/retail SDS duties. Use their complete current conditions and label requirements.]
I hope this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact me again if further assistance is needed.
Sincerely,
John A. Pendergrass
Assistant Secretary
The original official public domain version of this document is available from OSHA at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1988-12-05.