Trade secret claim

A withheld chemical identity or concentration on a safety data sheet, permitted under defined conditions.

A manufacturer may withhold the specific chemical identity or exact concentration of an ingredient as a trade secret, provided the sheet states that a claim is being made and still discloses the hazards.

The withheld information must be released to a treating physician or nurse in a medical emergency, and to health professionals under a confidentiality agreement otherwise.

A trade secret claim does not remove reporting obligations: the hazards and the reportability of the product still stand.

Related terms

• SDS Section 3Composition: the ingredients, their CAS numbers, and concentration ranges.
• Safety Data SheetThe 16-section document a manufacturer must supply describing a hazardous chemical's hazards, handling and properties.
• HazComOSHA's standard requiring that chemical hazards be classified, labelled, documented and communicated to workers.

A plain-English explanation, not legal advice. Figures are the federal baseline; your state may differ, so see the state-by-state requirements.