More than two years after the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to revise the existing Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) was introduced, OSHA finalized the new rule and significantly amended the 29 CFR, effective May 26, 2012.

Since its inception through to present day, the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) has evolved, mostly for convenience, into a document that provides data in greater detail than the standard requires.