SDS Studio™
Key takeaways
- A chatbot is good at explaining and drafting, not at producing a compliant EU SDS.
- CLP classification is arithmetic with legal thresholds; a language model estimates instead of calculating.
- Official H, EUH and P texts, Annex VI data and national rules must come from verified sources.
- Pasting a formulation into a public chatbot can expose a trade secret.
- Professional software uses AI for reading and wording, and fixed rules for everything legal.
What a chatbot is genuinely good at
General AI assistants are excellent at language tasks around an SDS: explaining what Section 11 means, summarising a regulation, drafting a cover letter to a customer or turning technical notes into readable text. For these tasks the risk is low, because a person reads and judges the result.
The problem starts when the output itself becomes the legal document.
The seven typical errors in AI-written SDSs
- Classification guessed, not calculatedAdditivity formulas, specific concentration limits and M-factors need exact arithmetic against legal thresholds. A model that sounds confident can still be one category off.
- Hazards inherited where tests are requiredMany physical hazards depend on tests of the mixture. An ingredient's physical classification cannot be inherited: copying H226 or H272 can over- or under-classify the mixture. The mixture's own test data or a recognised calculation method is required.
- Paraphrased phrasesH and P statements must use the official wording of each language. Close is not good enough.
- Missing harmonised dataCLP Annex VI entries change with every ATP. A model trained on older data does not know the current list.
- Wrong countryExposure limits in Section 8 and national laws in Section 15 are copied from the wrong Member State, or invented.
- Invented transport dataUN numbers and packing groups in Section 14 that do not exist in the ADR tables.
- Different answers each timeAsk the same question twice and get two different classifications. That is not a reproducible process.
Confidentiality: your formulation is a trade secret
The full composition is often the most valuable information a manufacturer has. Before entering it into any online tool, check where the data is stored, whether it is used for training and who can access it. Many companies forbid pasting formulations into public chatbots for this reason.
How professional SDS software uses AI safely
| Task | General chatbot | SDS Studio™ |
|---|---|---|
| Reading an existing SDS | Possible, unstructured | AI extraction into structured fields, every value editable |
| Mixture classification | Estimated | Rule engine with CLP thresholds, SCLs and M-factors |
| Harmonised classifications | From training data | ECHA Annex VI data, applied automatically |
| H, EUH, P statements | Paraphrased | Official text of each language from a phrase catalogue |
| Country sections (1.4, 8, 15) | Often wrong country | Data of the selected target country |
| Transport (Section 14) | May invent | Proposed from ADR tables, confirmed by a competent person |
| Reproducibility | Varies per run | Same input, same result |
In other words, AI does what it is good at: reading documents and producing clear wording, run with deterministic settings. Everything that has a legal answer comes from rules and verified data.
Who is responsible in the end?
Whichever tool you use, the supplier placing the product on the market is responsible for the SDS. REACH asks for a competent person to compile it. A good tool makes that person faster and more consistent; it does not replace their final review.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use ChatGPT to translate an SDS?
It can translate prose, but H, EUH and P statements must use the official text of each language, and country-specific sections need different content, not just a translation.
Does SDS Studio use AI?
Yes, for reading documents and wording. Classification, official phrases and transport data come from rules and verified data.
Is an AI-generated SDS legal?
Legality depends on the content, not the tool. The SDS must meet REACH Annex II and CLP, and the supplier stays responsible.
Is my composition safe in SDS Studio?
Your project data stays in your company workspace and is used to produce your SDS.
