[Click here to select and view individual ICSCs by name of chemical]
 

The ICSCs project is an undertaking of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). The project is being developed in the context of the cooperation between the IPCS and the Commission of the European Communities.

The IPCS is a joint activity of three cooperating international organizations: the International Labour Office (ILO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It was established in 1980 with the aim of implementing activities related to chemical safety.

IPCS main roles are to establish the scientific basis for safe use of chemicals - carry out and disseminate evaluations of the hazards posed by chemicals to human health and the environment - and to strengthen national pabilities and capacities for chemical safety. WHO is the executing agency of IPCS.

What are ICSCs? Who are they intended for?

The International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) offer essential health and safety information on chemicals to promote their safe use. They are intended to be used at the "shop floor" level by workers and employers in factories, agriculture, construction and other places of work, being particularly useful in less developed areas and in small and medium size enterprises. They are also designed to be part of education and training activities.

The Cards consist of a series of standard sentences summarizing health and safety information collected, verified and peer reviewed by internationally recognized scientists. The Cards have not legal status and may not reflect in all cases the detailed requirements included in national legislation.

The ICSCs provide information on the intrinsic hazards of specific chemicals together with first aid and fire-fighting measures, and information about precautions for spillage, disposal, storage, packaging, labelling and transport.

The Cards have no legal status and may not reflect in all cases the detailed requirements included in national legislation.

How are chemicals identified in ICSCs?

The identification of the chemicals on the Cards is based on the UN numbers, the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number and the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS/NIOSH) numbers. It is thought that the use of those three systems assures the most unambiguous method of identifying the chemical substances concerned, referring as it does to numbering systems that consider transportation matters, chemistry and occupational health.

Are ICSCs an instrument to classify chemicals?

The ICSCs project is not intended to generate any sort of classification of chemicals. It makes reference to existing classifications. As an example, the Cards cite the results of the deliberations of the UN Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods with respect to transport: the UN hazard classification and the UN packaging group, when they exist, are entered on the Cards. Moreover, the ICSCs are so-designed that room is reserved for the countries to enter information of national relevance.

Are ICSCs authoritative?

The preparation of ICSCs is an ongoing process of writing and reviewing by a group of scientists coming from various IPCS participating institutions in different countries.

A fundamental feature of the ICSCs is that they are peer reviewed by a group of scientists. This is considered to be a significant asset of the Cards versus other packages of information on chemicals.

Are ICSCs similar to Material Safety Data Sheets?

Great similarities exist between the various headings of the ICSCs and the manufacturers' Safety Data Sheet (SDS) or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) of the International Council of Chemical Associations, as can be seen in the following table.

 

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHEMICAL ASSOCIATIONS (ICCA) Headings of Material Safety Data Sheets	INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON CHEMICAL SAFETY (IPCS) Headings of International Chemical Safety Cards
1. Chemical product identification,and       Company identification	1. Chemical identification
2. Composition/Information on       ingredients	2. Composition/formula
3. Hazards identification	3. Hazard identification from fire      and explosion, and from      exposure by inhalation, skin,      eyes and ingestion, and      Prevention measures (with      personal protective equipment)
4. First-aid measures	First-aid measures
5. Fire-fighting measures	Fire-fighting measures
6. Accidental release measures	4. Spillage, disposal
7. Handling and storage	5. Storage  6. Packaging, labelling & transport
8. Exposure controls/Personal measures	See 3. above
	7. Important data:
See 15. below	Occupational exposure limits
9. Physical & chemical properties	See 8. below
10. Stability & reactivity	Physical & chemical dangers
11. Toxicological information	Routes of exposure     Effects of short- and long-term       exposure
See 9. above	8. Physical properties
12. Ecological information	9. Environmental data
13. Disposal considerations	See 4. above
14. Transport information	See 6. above
15. Regulatory information	See 7. above
	10. Notes
16. Other information	11. Additional information

 

However, MSDSs and the ICSCs are not the same. The MSDS, in many instances, may be technically very complex and too extensive for shop floor use, and secondly it is a management document. The ICSCs, on the other hand, set out peer-reviewed information about substances in a more concise and simple manner. While not a legal document, the ICSC is an authoritative document emanating from ILO/UNEP/WHO.

This is not to say that the ICSC should be a substitute for an MSDS nothing can replace management's responsibility to communicate with workers on the exact chemicals, the nature of those chemicals used on the shop floor and the risk posed in any given work place.

Indeed, the ICSC and the MSDS can even be thought of as complementary. If the two methods for hazard communication can be combined, then the amount of knowledge available to the safety representative or shop floor workers will be more than doubled.

The ICSC could serve as a model for disseminating chemical safety information to workers.

How are ICSCs disseminated?

ICSCs are originally prepared (written and revised) in English and placed on the Web. Subsequently, national institutions translate the Cards from English into different languages.

ICSCs are available on the World Wide Web in different languages.