WHMIS Ingredient Disclosure List (IDL) and Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Posted February 7, 2022

By: Kirsten Alcock, Principal Product Safety Consultant, email

The terminology WHMIS Ingredient Disclosure List is something of the past but I am continuing to see it on currently issued Canadian Safety Data Sheets (SDSs). Just today, while flipping through a supplier SDS that was prepared this year, the software the individual is using is referring to the IDL in section 15 of the SDS. If the software you purchase for the creation of SDS lists this as a line within section 15 of your SDS, please contact your SDS authoring company.

In the past, there was a list commonly referred to as the IDL (Ingredient Disclosure List). This was a list of chemicals that required disclosure on Canadian MSDS in the past. Note I say MSDS and not SDS as this is how old that regulation is.

Some believed that it was an all-inclusive list and if your chemical was not on this list, this meant that it did not require disclosure on your MSDS. This was incorrect. This was an additional list that existed and if your chemical was listed, it must appear on the MSDS. To this day, I continue to see this as a separate line on Canadian SDSs in section 15. I would like to set the record straight – the IDL is no longer required and was repealed many years ago.

If you see this on a supplier SDS coming into your company, please contact the supplier and request an updated SDS. The IDL is no longer in effect.

If you do a google search, you will find the terminology listed in our consolidated regulations but when you go to it, you will see it has been repealed.

If you have any questions regarding SDS requirements for the current system within Canada or the United States, do not hesitate to contact us. We can help you convert your older MSDSs into SDSs that meet the current requirements for your specific country. Contact us for further information on how we can help you meet your compliance for the GHS (Globally Harmonized System).

Dell Tech
Kirsten Alcock, B.Sc. (Hons)
Principal Product Safety Consultant
519-858-5074
kirsten@delltech.com