same chemical - different sds

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RosalieL
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Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 13:24
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same chemical - different sds

Post by RosalieL »

Hi all,
I have 2 containers of aluminium potassium sulfate (potash alum). Same chemical formula, same molecular weights just two different manufacturers/suppliers. One is ChemSupply, one is westlab. ChemSupply SDS date is 2023-11-10 (I'm assuming 10th Nov). Westlab SDS date is 13/10/23. ChemSupply says not-hazardous and no signal words or pictograms, Westlab says hazardous, Danger, and has 2 pictograms, but the container label itself says Non-Hazardous. Who do I believe??? Why is it so hard??? Am I just brain-fried from holidays and reading it wrong???

Help out a fellow labbie who just wants to start the year with the chemicals in all the right places!!!
RosalieL
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Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 13:24
Job Title: Lab Assistant
School: MCS
State/Location: NSW

Re: same chemical - different sds

Post by RosalieL »

I have the same problem with two different brands of ammonium thiocyanate...

Edit - I read one of the SDSs wrong. They both say Hazardous but not DG, but the confusion in the above post still stands.
bigmack
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Re: same chemical - different sds

Post by bigmack »

If it's any consolation , I was having similar issues yesterday with Lipase .

Anyway ,it is interesting that if you look up a variety of SDS's for Aluminum potassium Sulphate , they mostly all say it is non hazardous with no GHS .
The couple that do , use Chemwatch SDS's .And I saw one Chemwatch sourced have just the warning and another have the corrosive as well .The one with a warning also said it was bad for aquatic life but didn't have the Environment symbol . Go figure .I have never trusted Chemwatch SDS's

Personally , I'd just use the ChemSupply one Rosalie .But we are meant to have one for each supplier .

It would be interesting to hear Westlabs take on why they sell Chemsupply that has it as non hazardous while their Branded one uses a Chemwatch SDS and they haven't used the symbols from that SDS on their label .
RosalieL
Posts: 844
Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 13:24
Job Title: Lab Assistant
School: MCS
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Re: same chemical - different sds

Post by RosalieL »

I'm glad it's not just me! I decided to go with non-hazardous as because they're both saying non-DG for transport then I'm storing with the other non-hazardous chemicals anyway... and I have links to the SDS on my register to prove that they are non-hazardous so I figure I'm covered!
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Anna Z
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Re: same chemical - different sds

Post by Anna Z »

Very common...I have a few chemicals like that too. Painfull
bigmack
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Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 10:49
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Re: same chemical - different sds

Post by bigmack »

Just got Sodium Acetate Anhydrous from Westlabs ( home brand)
It also has a Chemwatch SDS and is Hazardous whereas the Chem supply brand is not hazardous .
PeterK
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Re: same chemical - different sds

Post by PeterK »

Might have to query them on it.

I once retrieved the latest SDS update to copper nitrate from Thermofisher and it had changed to list it as a carcinogen, reproductive toxicity. Obviously, this would have change how we use it, so I emailed them about the change. They never replied, but the next day a new SDS was in its place, no longer a carcinogen.
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