On October 17, 2023, South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor released the latest compliance results for the 2023 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) inspections. Between July 10 and August 31, 2023, the Ministry conducted investigations at 220 chemical-related workplaces, including chemical manufacturers, importers, and toxic substance handlers. As we all know, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are essential resources that offer detailed information on chemicals, including their names, potential hazards, risks, and necessary safety measures. Additionally, MSDSs play a crucial role in assessing chemical hazards and providing vital guidance on emergency response and treatment procedures.
About MSDS
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is an essential source of chemical information, which comprises of the substance name,hazards,risks, and safety precautions. This kind of information should be collected to assess the hazards of chemicals. It can be used to provide employees with emergency measures and suggestions.
Investigation results show that illegal activities could be spotted in 97 workplaces (accounting for 44% of the total), with 269 violation records, most of which were related to MSDS, amounting to 223. These include failure to label warning signs (46 companies with 85 violation records); lack of MSDS-related education (31 companies with 33 violation records); and failure to publish MSDS (21 companies with 37 violation records). Additionally, there are 46 violation records related to safety and hygiene measures.
Although the violation rate has decreased compared with that in last year, there are still deficiencies in the warning signs and employee training. Furthermore, the Ministry of Employment and Labor also found some workplaces failed to fulfill their occupational safety and health obligations, for instance, lack of special health inspections and local exhaust equipment, etc.
Details can be seen in the following table:
|
Violations |
Violation companies (proportion) |
Violations for chemicals exceeding 100 tons (proportion) |
Violations for chemicals below 100 tons (proportion) |
Violation |
|
No warning sign |
46(20.9) |
16(27.1) |
30(18.6) |
85 |
|
No MSDS-related training |
31(14.1) |
9(15.3) |
22(13.7) |
33 |
|
No MSDS published |
21(9.5) |
10(16.9) |
11(6.8) |
37 |
|
Incorrect MSDS |
10(4.5) |
3(5.1) |
7(4.3) |
51 |
|
No MSDS submission |
8(3.6) |
6(10.2) |
2(1.2) |
9 |
|
No progress management regulations published |
4(1.8) |
0(0.0) |
4(2.5) |
4 |
|
No MSDS data provided |
2(0.9) |
0(0.0) |
2(1.2) |
2 |
|
No MSDS confidential approval |
1(0.5) |
0(0.0) |
1(0.6) |
2 |
It should be noted that companies manufacture or import chemicals in volumes of 10-100 tons per year must submit MSDS by January 16, 2024. Moreover, companies should fully understand and comply with MSDS requirements, and provide employee training to ensure workplace safety.
