Abbreviations and acronyms in Safety Data Sheets
MSDS-Europe – Safety data sheet knowledge base – Abbreviations and acronyms in Safety Data Sheets
In chemical Safety Data Sheets (SDS), especially under Section 16 (“Other information”), it is required to provide a legend explaining all abbreviations and acronyms used. This ensures that readers can understand technical shorthand appearing in the document.
SDSs are standardized 16-section documents that convey hazard and safety information for substances and mixtures, and they often contain numerous acronyms—from regulatory references (e.g. CLP, REACH) to scientific terms (e.g. LD50, PNEC). Including the explanations of these abbreviations helps maintain clarity and compliance with regulations.
SDS acronyms
The term SDS itself is an acronym for Safety Data Sheet, the standardized hazard communication document used internationally. (In the past, the term MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheet – was commonly used, but SDS is now the globally preferred term.) An SDS provides essential safety and handling information for chemicals.
Within an SDS, it is common to encounter many other acronyms that denote chemical properties, regulatory agencies, exposure limits, etc. These acronyms are used to keep the SDS concise and internationally understandable, since many are derived from English names or established international conventions.
SDS abbreviations explained
Every SDS must include an explanation or key for each abbreviation used, usually in Section 16 as a glossary. For example, if an SDS uses the term PBT, it will note that this stands for “Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic.” Similarly, acronyms like ADR or GHS are defined (e.g. ADR might be explained as the European road transport regulation for dangerous goods).
By providing these definitions, the SDS remains accessible to all readers. The glossary of abbreviations typically covers regulatory acronyms (such as OSHA, ECHA), scientific measurements (LC50, DNEL), chemical descriptors (COD, LD50), and any other shorthand used in the document.
Abbreviations and acronyms used in SDS in other languages
It’s worth noting that the name and some acronyms can differ in other languages, even if the concept is the same. For example, Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is termed “biztonsági adatlap” in Hungarian, “Sicherheitsdatenblatt” in German, “Fiche de données de sécurité” in French, “Scheda di dati di sicurezza” in Italian, “Ficha de datos de seguridad” in Spanish, “Fișă cu date de securitate” in Romanian, and “Karta charakterystyki” in Polish.
However, the scientific and regulatory abbreviations within SDSs (like those listed below) are often consistent internationally. Many acronyms originate from English or from the names of international agreements (for instance, ADR comes from a French-named treaty but is used across all languages). Each country may also have its own specific terms for certain concepts (for instance, Hungary uses ÁK and CK for exposure limits, whereas English SDSs use terms like TWA and STEL), but an SDS intended for international use will usually include the internationally recognized abbreviations. In all cases, providing a glossary in the local language is crucial so that readers can find the meaning of each acronym in that context.
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The most common abbreviations and acronyms in Safety Data Sheets
Below is a list of some of the most frequently encountered abbreviations and acronyms in SDSs, along with their explanations:
ADN: European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways.
ADR: Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road.
ATE: Acute Toxicity Estimate.
AOX: Adsorbable organic halides.
BCF: Bioconcentration factor.
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand.
CAS number: Chemical Abstract Service number.
CLP: Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures.
CMR effects: Carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic effects.
COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand.
CSA: Chemical Safety Assessment.
CSR: Chemical Safety Report.
DNEL: Derived-No-Effect-Level.
ECHA: European Chemical Agency.
EC: European Community.
EC number: EINECS and ELINCS numbers (see also EINECS and ELINCS).
EEC: European Economic Community.
EEA: European Economic Area (EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).
EINECS: European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances.
ELINCS: European List of Notified Chemical Substances.
EN: European Norm.
EU: European Union.
EuPCS: European Product Categorisation System.
EWC: European Waste Catalogue (replaced by LoW – see below).
GHS: Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.
IATA: International Air Transport Association.
ICAO-TI: Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.
IMDG: International Maritime Dangerous Goods.
IMO: International Maritime Organization.
IMSBC: International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes.
IUCLID: International Uniform Chemical Information Database.
IUPAC: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Kow: n-Octanol – Water Partition Coefficient.
LC50: Lethal concentration resulting in 50 % mortality.
LD50: Lethal dose resulting in 50 % mortality (median lethal dose).
LoW: List of Waste.
LOEC: Lowest Observed Effect Concentration.
LOEL: Lowest Observed Effect Level.
NOEC: No Observed Effect Concentration.
NOEL: No Observed Effect Level.
NOAEC: No Observed Adverse Effect Concentration.
NOAEL: No Observed Adverse Effect Level.
OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
PBT: Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic.
PNEC: Predicted No Effect Concentration.
QSAR: Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship.
REACH: Regulation 1907/2006/EC concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.
RID: Regulations Concerning the International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail.
SCBA: Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.
SDS: Safety Data Sheet.
STOT: Specific Target Organ Toxicity.
SVHC: Substances of Very High Concern.
UN: United Nations.
UVCB: Chemical Substances of Unknown or Variable Composition, Complex Reaction Products or of Biological Materials.
VOC: Volatile Organic Compound.
vPvB: very Persistent and very Bioaccumulative.
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