Every laboratory material has a safety data sheet, and bacteriostatic water's is short, because the product is water with 0.9% of a well-characterized preservative. It still belongs in the chemical inventory, and it still answers the questions that come up on a spill or a disposal decision. This guide walks the standard 16-section format as it applies to this product. Always use the supplier's actual SDS; this page explains how to read one, not what any particular one says.
Sections 1 to 3: identification and composition
Section 1 names the product, the supplier and the intended use ("laboratory research use only"). Section 2 gives the hazard classification. Section 3 lists the composition: water, and benzyl alcohol at 0.9% (CAS 100-51-6).
The classification is the section to read carefully. Pure benzyl alcohol is classified as harmful if swallowed or inhaled and as an eye irritant. GHS classification of a mixture depends on the concentration of each hazardous component, and at 0.9% benzyl alcohol is at or below the concentration cut-offs for most of those classifications, so a 0.9% aqueous solution is commonly not classified as hazardous, or carries at most a mild irritation statement. The supplier's SDS states which applies to their product. Either way, the product is not a significant chemical hazard in normal laboratory handling.
Section 4: first aid
Standard measures for a mild aqueous solution: rinse eyes with water if splashed, wash skin, seek advice if swallowed in quantity. Nothing unusual.
Sections 5 and 6: fire and spills
A 0.9% aqueous solution is not flammable; the benzyl alcohol content is far too dilute. A spill of the volumes involved (a vial is at most 30 mL) is absorbed with paper towels and the area wiped; broken glass goes to the glass waste stream. See disposal.
Section 7: handling and storage
This section should match the label: store at controlled room temperature, protect from freezing and light, keep containers sealed. It may note that the product is for laboratory use by trained personnel. See controlled room temperature explained.
Section 8: exposure controls
Occupational exposure limits exist for benzyl alcohol as a pure substance but are not approached by handling millilitres of a 0.9% solution. Standard laboratory practice, gloves and eye protection, is what the section will recommend.
Section 9: physical and chemical properties
Clear, colorless liquid; faint aromatic odor; pH approximately 5 to 6; density approximately that of water; boiling point approximately 100 °C; miscible with water. These are the properties of the solution, not of benzyl alcohol, and are useful as a cross-check against the certificate of analysis.
Section 10: stability and reactivity
Stable under labeled storage. Incompatible with strong oxidizing agents, which oxidize the benzyl alcohol. Hazardous decomposition products under fire conditions: carbon oxides. See benzyl alcohol oxidation for the chemistry.
Sections 11 and 12: toxicological and ecological information
These sections report data for benzyl alcohol as a substance and note the low concentration in the product. Benzyl alcohol is readily biodegradable and not bioaccumulative, which is why small residual volumes are often acceptable for drain disposal where local rules permit.
Section 13: disposal
Follow local regulations. Typical statement: dilute aqueous solution may be disposed of via sanitary sewer where permitted, otherwise as aqueous chemical waste; containers to the glass or plastic waste stream.
Sections 14 to 16: transport, regulatory, other
Not regulated for transport as a dangerous good. Regulatory section lists inventory status of benzyl alcohol. Section 16 gives the revision date; an SDS more than a few years old should be replaced with the current version.
Using the SDS
File it in the chemical inventory, link it from the SOP, and check the revision date annually. Suppliers should provide it on request; that is one of the questions to ask before ordering. The product-side documentation, the certificate of analysis, is covered in how to read a COA.
All BAC Water Supply products are supplied for laboratory research use only and are not for human or veterinary use.