Data sheet, biological

The first step is to identify the substances present at the workplace. As a starting point, knowledge of the process is needed in order to formulate a list of all chemical agents used in the establishment. The list should include not only primary products but also intermediate and final products, as well as reaction products and by-products. For the chemical agents in the list, it is necessary to know their chemical properties, especially hazardous ones their OEL values, including biological limit values and, where these are not available, other technical criteria that can be used to evaluate the risk. It is also helpful to include any information on the safety and health risks of those substances provided by the supplier or other readily available sources. This information on dangerous substances and preparations, in the form of safety data sheets, is intended primarily for industrial users, to enable them to take the measures necessary to ensure the safety and health of workers. 

Edgewood Research Development, and Engineering Center, Department of the Army. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Lethal Nerve Agent (GA). Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD Chemical Biological Defense Command, Revised February 28,1996. 

List Biological Laboratories, Inc. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) for Bacterial Toxins. http //www.listlabs.com. 2006. 

As the variety of commercially available ELISA kits grows seemingly every day, so does the availability of Web sites and technical data sheets available to the researcher. There are many excellent sites available and the ones we often use include, but are not limited to, those of CHEMICON International, BD Biosciences, Protocol Online, and Invitrogen. Additionally, very helpful resources for any laboratory are the volumes of Current Protocols such as Current Protocols in Molecular Biology and Current Protocols in Cell Biology. 

The toxicity associated with SM is quite profound. The Army s Chemical Defense Equipment Process Action Team estimated in 1994 that a 900 mg-min/m SM vapor exposure would be lethal in 2-10 min, based on animal studies (National Research Council Review, 1997). Fortunately, in the battlefield, lethality has been limited. Only 1-3% of exposed soldiers died from SM exposure after WWI, and mortality mostly was not a direct consequence of SM, but rather the indirect effect of secondary respiratory infections. The 1999 Material Safety Data Sheet, put out by the US Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, USA Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, has estimated the LD50 of a skin exposure to sullur mustard as lOOmg/kg. This roughly translates into as little as 7 ml of neat SM (i.e. 8.9 g) spread over the skin resulting in the death of a 80 kg adult (Department of the Army, MSDS, 1999). The cornea, of course, is more sensitive than the skin. Below we review three chief toxic effects of severe SM exposure to the cornea. 

Legislative text emphasizes the indications that should be enclosed within the data sheet, as well as the composition of the administrative, pharmaceutical, chemical, biological, toxicologiccil and pharmacological files. 

Material safety data sheets are available for every chemical and biological substance. These are available directly from the company of acquisition or the internet. The manuals for equipment used in the lab should be read and understood before using them. 

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