Material Safety Data Sheet: a few questions.

[SteveD2]

MSDS: a document outlining the active and non-active elements in a solution. This document is intended to help understand how a product can be used safely, how to deal with an accident, etc..

So I'm wondering how an MSDS can be used to determine if a product will do what the company says it will do?

Trade secrets are of the utmost importance to market viability, and to expose a company's secrets in a material safety data sheet doesn't make any sense to me.

Also, how's anyone to know if the company is even telling the truth about what's in their products? Only they truly know.

It seems odd to me that many people dismiss a product simply by looking for key words in the MSDS. The MSDS doesn't tell the whole story, only the very minimum information to help people deal with accidents and haz-mat issues.

Allen

 

[Johnny]

You are absolutely correct. MSDS is just that ( Material SAFETY Data Sheet)

 

[John K]

But it does have to list any toxic data. They fudge some by giving a range of the percentages of what is in it, or describe it in general terms. It can give you clues to the makeup. If they made delibrately false data and did not divulge something considered toxic, they could be in trouble with the government. Sometimes it is the only information available for the consumer. If a competitor wants to know what is in a product they can analyze it, it is done all the time. I think companies rely on patents to protect their products.

 

[MolaKule]

Quote:
This document is intended to help understand how a product can be used safely, how to deal with an accident, etc..


And to determine noxiuous by-products of combustion if it were to catch fire. etc., and to suggest antidotes for potential poisioning.

An MSDS is/was never intended to reveal all chemical components nor to reveal any proprietary or intellectual data.

 

[SteveD2]

Originally Posted By: John K
But it does have to list any toxic data. They fudge some by giving a range of the percentages of what is in it, or describe it in general terms. It can give you clues to the makeup. If they made delibrately false data and did not divulge something considered toxic, they could be in trouble with the government. Sometimes it is the only information available for the consumer. If a competitor wants to know what is in a product they can analyze it, it is done all the time. I think companies rely on patents to protect their products.


True.

 

[SteveD2]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Quote:
This document is intended to help understand how a product can be used safely, how to deal with an accident, etc..


And to determine noxiuous by-products of combustion if it were to catch fire. etc., and to suggest antidotes for potential poisioning.

An MSDS is/was never intended to reveal all chemical components nor to reveal any proprietary or intellectual data.


Exactly, which is why I think it's somewhat absurd to think that one can label a product "snake oil" simply by reading the MSDS.

 

[MolaKule]

Quote:
Exactly, which is why I think it's somewhat absurd to think that one can label a product "snake oil" simply by reading the MSDS.


Yes, but one must differentiate PCMO, transmission fluids, and gear oils against aftermarket additive claims; not on the basis of MSDS, but on performance and value.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
I think companies rely on patents to protect their products.


Unless there are no patents on what ingredients they use and no process patent is available (expired or whatnot).

Frank will tell you all of the ingredients in Auto-Rx ..I think he even gives you the proportions ..but his blending process is patented.

 

[lewdwig]

Sometimes a component will be labeled as proprietary ("New Jersey trade secret"), there's a whole section of the reg's on that. But it might tell you something you don't want for your application. It helps to have some knowledge of chemistry.