The petition was set up by David Majarich, who inhaled fumes while using varnish during some DIY. He attended hospital and though he took the paint with him, the nurse still had difficulty finding the MSDS she needed to provide the correct treatment.
Safety data sheets, required by the REACH Regulation, contain information to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. SDSs are a widely used system for cataloguing information on chemicals, chemical compounds, and chemical mixtures.
"The public and medical/emergency services need an efficient and standardised method to find out the chemical composition and response with exposure to hazardous goods that the public can freely purchase -- a mandatory QR code on the product label to the manufacturers MSDS address this issue," the petition states.
A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that can be read using smartphones or other devices by downloading a QR reader.
You can sign the petition here.