Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals to distribute Material Safety Data Sheets to purchasers or users of the chemicals upon request. MSDS contain information about hazards of the product, how to use the product safely, what to expect if the recommendations are not followed, what to do if accidents occur, how to recognize symptoms of overexposure, and what to do if such incidents occur.

Methanol

(also methyl alcohol)

A solvent derived from wood, natural gas, or petroleum, methanol is acutely toxic and can cause blindness.

Found in: Conventional glass cleaners.

Methyl Alcohol

(See methanol above)

Mineral Acids

(See hydrochloric acid or phosphoric acid. Also sulfuric acid)

Mineral Spirits

(See kerosene)

miticide

Monoethanolamine

(See diethanolamine)

Morpholine

A highly toxic synthetic that can cause liver and kidney damage. While this ingredient is rare in consumer products, its extreme toxicity warrants its inclusion on this list.

Found in: Conventional all-purpose cleaners and abrasives, waxes, polishes, antiseptic products.

Multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS)

Also known as environmental illness, MCS is believed to be an acquired allergic disease. It is characterized by a wide variety of potential symptoms that affect any number of bodily organs or systems and that appear when the victim is exposed to trigger chemicals in tiny or even trace amounts.

Muriatic Acid

(See hydrochloric acid)

mutagen

An agent that causes a permanent genetic change in a cell other than that which occurs during normal genetic recombination. Mutagenicity is the capacity of a chemical or physical agent to cause such permanent alteration.