International Chemical Safety Card
Encyclopedia
International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) are short summaries of health and safety information about chemical compounds designed to be used by workers handling these chemicals. They are produced by the International Programme on Chemical Safety
(IPCS) in collaboration with the European Commission
and various national bodies.
An ICSC is designed to complement a Material Safety Data Sheet
, and to be used by individual workers rather than safety specialists. The cards are produced in a standard format, which eases translation between languages. The cards are currently available in HTML
or PDF format
in sixteen languages, and in paper format in other languages. As of April 2005, 1491 cards are available in English
.
International Programme on Chemical Safety
The International Programme on Chemical Safety was formed in 1980 and is a collaboration between three United Nations bodies—the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to establish the scientific basis for safe use of...
(IPCS) in collaboration with the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and various national bodies.
An ICSC is designed to complement a Material Safety Data Sheet
Material safety data sheet
A Material Safety Data Sheet is a form with data regarding the properties of a particular substance....
, and to be used by individual workers rather than safety specialists. The cards are produced in a standard format, which eases translation between languages. The cards are currently available in HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
or PDF format
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
in sixteen languages, and in paper format in other languages. As of April 2005, 1491 cards are available in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
External links
- Official site at the International Labour OrganizationInternational Labour OrganizationThe International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
- U.S. site at NIOSH