TABLE OF CONTENTS Adhesives consist of a number of components as described in Chapter 6, usually containing reactive chemicals. Adequate precautions must be taken when working with adhesives to prevent harmful exposure. Adhesive manufacturers are required by law to provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for each product that they sell. The MSDS must contain sufficient details about the composition, hazard rating, first aid measures, handling and storage, personal protection (exposure control), stability and reactivity, and toxicology of adhesives.
Anyone who plans to handle an adhesive must be familiar with the measures required to prevent or minimize exposure of personnel. In addition to volatile organic solvents and resins, adhesives may contain pigments, catalysts, stabilizer, extenders, etc. Each of these components may possess hazardous properties individually or in combination with other materials. There are thousands of adhesive compounds on the market making it impractical to list the hazards of every one of them.[1] The current system of communication required by law is described below to allow the reader to decipher the safety information provided by adhesive manufacturers. This system is applicable to all chemicals.
Adhesives, as with other chemicals, must meet the standards of personal safety established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). [2 ,3 ] The need to protect employees from the hazards of such chemicals led OSHA to issue the first Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in 1983. The central idea of the HCS is the belief that workers who may be exposed to hazardous...
