https://www.ioshmagazine.com/article/call-for-mandatory-qr-codes-on-hazardous-goods

It is absolutely embarrasing to see this article in something that purports to be iosh magazine.

In Europe (not only the UK) we have the REACH regulations in force since 2006 under which Article 45 requires hazardous materials to be registered with a National Poisons Centre.

The enacting European legislation was finally agreed in 2018 with consumer products to be registered under a UFI (Unique Formula Identifier) by January 2021 - delayed from 2020 whilst the ECHA system is resolved.

This petition whilst well intentioned is lagging behind the published legislation so is superfluous.

A balanced article would have pointed out the basic omissions launching in to this petition without due consideration of all pertinent facts e.g. the UK does not act alone in such legislation.

In principle, I agree with the idea

To answer one of your points the current regulations made it a duty for the supplier to provide a Safety Data Sheet - an active duty rather than the passive method of pushing documents on-line to be downloaded by whoever/whenever - this is because they have legal obligation to provide any updates in the 12 months following supply.

If you are being hit with marketing that is an issue with the supplier under their Data Protection rules.

When you are using a product it is good practice to read the instructions before use and in the workplace have undertaken a COSHH assessment which would reasonably involve review of the available SDS.

How you would have someone struggling to breath in A&E whilst you rummaged on the web for a document smacks of a system worthy of prosecution as neither suitable nor sufficient.

Edited by user 30 October 2019 09:33:32(UTC)  | Reason: Despair at the imminent arrival of winter

I have also seen software that can read ordinary labels and then access the supplier’s database and pull up an SDS.

Of course an SDS only tells what the hazard is not what the risk the item poses and as Roundtuit said   the supplier is supposed to supply you with the SDS for free unencumbered by mailing and marketing bollox. Once upon time they used to be sent with the item (of course the stores people would then take the SDS out and put them in the recycling but that’s another issue)