The general requirements of the chemical industry are currently covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act), The Hazardous Substances Regulations, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, SABS Codes of Practice 0228 & 0229, The General Building Regulations, the Fire Brigade Regulations and local By-laws amongst others.   Each of these addresses different requirements and places different emphasis on hazardous properties.

The requirements of the OHS Act include that of employers advising all their employees of any hazards associated with substances with which they may come into contact in the workplace.  It is therefore incumbent on those supplying substances to indicate to their customers the degree of hazard inherent in their products.  

Employers should therefore ensure that they have full data on file for all chemical substances used or stored by them. These should be in the form of MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS (OHS/EEC Style). The Act also requires for customers to be provided with Material Data Sheets covering any hazards which may arise from the use of the products.

The EcoChem hazardous substances database has been compiled to cover mainly substances and preparations used by or produced by companies operating in the Paint, Ink, Adhesive and Resin fields but this also covers many chemicals in general industrial use. Extra items can be included if required.

The Database covers OELs., Transport and packaging requirements, and user labelling and also includes information of a general chemical nature.