This guide is for product stewards and regulatory teams at chemical manufacturers who author their own safety data sheets. It covers the three criteria to use when comparing tools, shows how a list change becomes an approved SDS revision, and lists every regulatory list Valenc monitors today.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult the primary sources linked below and confirm details with your regulatory professional.
Criterion 1: Regulatory feed coverage
Coverage is the first thing to check and the easiest to overstate. A claim such as "monitors global regulations" tells you nothing. Ask for the list of lists, by name and authority, for every market you sell into.
Which lists, exactly? Exposure limits, hazard-reporting lists, restrictions, chemical inventories, harmonized classifications, and transport regulations each feed different SDS sections. A gap in any one leaves a section out of date.
How fast? Ask how long it takes from a regulator's release to the change being live in the software, and whether a person reviews it first.
What if you need a list they do not cover? Ask how long it takes to add one.
Valenc's regulatory monitoring covers 73 regulatory lists and reference sources, from OSHA and EPA lists to EU member-state exposure limits and international transport rules. The full list is below. Updates are found with AI-assisted searches, reviewed by Valenc's regulatory team, and live in the system within 24 hours of a regulator's release. If you need a list Valenc does not yet cover, it can be added within days.
Criterion 2: Cross-referencing changes against your products
A list change matters only if it touches something you make. For a site that buys chemicals, cross-referencing means matching changes against an inventory of purchased products. For a manufacturer that authors SDSs, it means checking every substance in every formulation against each change.
Is matching done by CAS number at the ingredient level? Matching on product names misses mixtures that contain the listed substance.
Are concentrations considered? Many lists apply only above a concentration threshold, so a match without the concentration is only half an answer.
Is every product checked, every time? Spot checks and annual reviews leave gaps between them.
In Valenc, every product in your database is checked automatically against each change. Each alert shows the affected component, the product composition, and the jurisdiction of the change, so an EU update flags EU versions of a product and a US update flags US ones.
Criterion 3: Revision alerts that lead to an approved SDS
An alert is useful only if it tells you what to do next. Each one should answer three questions before you open a document: what changed, which product or component is affected, and what decision is required.
Out-of-date marking. Affected published SDSs should be marked out of date in every region and language, so no one sends a stale version.
Notification. The people responsible should be alerted without having to go looking.
Look-ahead. Proposed changes should be visible before they take effect, along with the products they would affect.
Approval. Nothing should be republished until a named person approves it, and earlier versions should remain retrievable.
Valenc sends email alerts, marks affected SDSs as out of date, and shows proposed changes and their effect on your products in an Upcoming view. No SDS is republished without approval.
From list change to approved SDS revision
This is the full chain in Valenc, from a regulator's release to a revised SDS.
A regulator publishes a change. For example, ECHA adds substances to the REACH Candidate List.
The change is found and reviewed. AI-assisted searches find the update. Valenc's regulatory team reviews it and puts it live within 24 hours of the release.
Every product is checked. Each product in your account is matched against the change by CAS number. Where a classification could change, the deterministic rules engine reclassifies the product. AI does not classify.
Affected SDSs are flagged. They are marked out of date in every language, and the responsible people receive an email alert.
A person decides. The reviewer sees the change, the affected component, and the sections involved. Ambiguous cases, such as a concentration range that crosses a new cut-off, are flagged for a decision.
The revision is approved. The updated SDS is published only after approval, and the previous version stays on record.
Illustrative example: a new REACH Candidate List entry
Suppose ECHA adds Substance X to the REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern, and one of your EU products contains it at 0.5% by weight.
Day 0. ECHA publishes the Candidate List update.
Within 24 hours. The update has been reviewed and is live in Valenc. Every product containing Substance X is matched by CAS number, including your 0.5% product.
Flagged. The product's EU SDSs are marked out of date in every language, and the product owner receives an email naming the product, the component, and the change.
Reviewed. The reviewer updates the regulatory information in Section 15 and any other affected sections, then approves the new version.
Distributed. Under REACH Article 31(9), the updated SDS must be provided to recipients you supplied in the preceding 12 months.
Substance X and the product are illustrative. The steps and timings are how Valenc handles every list update.
The 73 lists Valenc monitors
Valenc currently monitors these 73 regulatory lists and reference sources. Each entry shows the issuing authority. Additional lists can be added on request, usually within days.
Harmonized classification
CLP Annex VI Table of Harmonised Classification and Labelling (EU ECHA)
Exposure limits: US and international
ACGIH Threshold Limit Values (US ACGIH)
NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits (US NIOSH)
OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits (US OSHA)
Exposure limits: Canada
British Columbia Occupational Exposure Limits (WorkSafeBC)
British Columbia OEL Excluded Substances (WorkSafeBC)
Ontario Occupational Exposure Limits (Ontario MOL)
Quebec Occupational Exposure Limits (VEMP) (Quebec CNESST)
Exposure limits: UK and Mexico
GB Workplace Exposure Limits (EH40) (UK HSE)
Mexico NOM-010-STPS-2014 Occupational Exposure Limits (MX STPS)
Exposure limits: EU and member states
EU Binding Occupational Exposure Limit Values (EU Parliament and Council)
EU Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values (EU Commission)
Austrian Maximum Workplace Concentrations (MAK) (AT BMAW)
Belgian Occupational Exposure Limits (BE FPS Employment)
Bulgarian Occupational Exposure Limits (BG МТСП и МЗ)
Croatian Occupational Exposure Limits (HR MIZ)
Cypriot Occupational Exposure Limits (CY DLI)
Czech Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) (CZ MZ)
Danish Occupational Exposure Limits (Grænseværdier) (DK Arbejdstilsynet)
Dutch Occupational Exposure Limits (wettelijke grenswaarden) (NL Ministerie van SZW)
Estonian Occupational Exposure Limits (EE SoM)
Finnish Occupational Exposure Limits (HTP) (FI STM)
French Occupational Exposure Limit Values (VLEP) (FR Ministère du Travail)
German Workplace Exposure Limits (AGW, TRGS 900) (DE AGS)
Greek Occupational Exposure Limits (GR Υπουργείο Εργασίας)
Hungarian Occupational Exposure Limits (ÁK) (HU ITM)
Irish Occupational Exposure Limit Values (IE HSA)
Italian Occupational Exposure Limit Values (IT Ministero del Lavoro e Ministero della Salute)
Latvian Occupational Exposure Limits (LV LM)
Lithuanian Occupational Exposure Limits (LT SAM)
Luxembourg Occupational Exposure Limits (LU ITM)
Maltese Occupational Exposure Limits (MT OHSA)
Polish Maximum Admissible Concentrations (NDS) (PL MRPiPS)
Portuguese Occupational Exposure Limit Values (VLE) (PT Ministério do Trabalho)
Romanian Occupational Exposure Limit Values (RO Ministerul Muncii)
Slovak Occupational Exposure Limits (NPEL) (SK MZ SR)
Slovenian Occupational Exposure Limits (SI MDDSZ)
Spanish Environmental Limit Values (VLA) (ES INSST)
Swedish Occupational Exposure Limits (NGV) (SE Arbetsmiljöverket)
US hazard reporting, carcinogen, and right-to-know lists
California Proposition 65 (CA OEHHA)
CERCLA Hazardous Substances and Reportable Quantities (US EPA)
CERCLA Hazardous Substances — Synonym Names (US EPA)
CERCLA Radionuclides Reportable Quantities (US EPA)
Clean Air Act Hazardous Air Pollutants (US EPA)
Clean Water Act Priority Pollutants (US EPA)
NTP Report on Carcinogens (US NTP)
RCRA Hazardous Waste Codes (P, U, F, K Lists) (US EPA)
SARA Title III Section 302 Extremely Hazardous Substances (US EPA)
SARA Title III Section 313 Toxic Release Inventory (US EPA)
Massachusetts Right to Know Substance List (MA DOL)
New Jersey Right to Know Hazardous Substance List (NJ DOH)
Pennsylvania Right to Know Hazardous Substance List (PA DOL)
EU and UK restrictions, authorisation, and reporting
REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (EU ECHA)
REACH Annex XIV Authorisation List (EU ECHA)
REACH Annex XVII Restrictions (EU ECHA)
EU Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (2019/1021) (EU Parliament and Council)
Seveso III Directive Dangerous Substances (EU Parliament and Council)
Seveso III Directive Hazard Categories (EU Parliament and Council)
EU Water Framework Directive Priority Substances (EU Parliament and Council)
UK REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (UK HSE)
UK REACH Annex XVII Restrictions (UK HSE)
Chemical inventories and Canadian restrictions
Toxic Substances Control Act Inventory (US EPA)
Canadian Domestic Substances List (ECCC)
Canadian Non-Domestic Substances List (ECCC)
CEPA Schedule 1 Toxic Substances (ECCC)
Transport
DOT Hazardous Materials Table (USDOT)
Canadian Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (Transport Canada)
Mexico NOM-002-SCT Dangerous Goods Transport (MX SCT)
European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) (UNECE)
International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG) (IMO)
IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (IATA)
International conventions and reference data
Rotterdam Convention, Annex III (prior informed consent) (UNEP/FAO Rotterdam Convention Secretariat)
PubChem Compound Reference Database (US NIH NCBI)
Where AI is used and where it is not
AI helps find regulatory updates, extracts data from supplier SDSs when you choose to use it, and reviews finished documents. It does not classify. Every regulatory update is reviewed by Valenc's regulatory team before it goes live, classifications come from a deterministic rules engine, and your team approves every SDS before it is published. See how Valenc uses AI.
Questions to ask any vendor
Use these questions in a demo, and ask to see each answer on your own products.
| Criterion | Ask the vendor | What a good answer looks like | Valenc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory feed coverage | Which lists do you monitor, by name and authority? | A named list for every market you sell into | 73 lists and reference sources, listed above |
| Update speed | How long from a regulator's release to live in the system? | A stated time, with human review | Within 24 hours, reviewed by Valenc's regulatory team |
| New lists | How quickly can you add a list we need? | Days or weeks, not the next annual release | Within days |
| Cross-referencing | Is every product checked by CAS number at the ingredient level? | Every product, every change, automatically | Every product checked automatically against each change |
| Revision alerts | What happens to a published SDS when a list changes? | Marked out of date in every language, with an alert | Marked out of date in every language, with an email alert |
| Look-ahead | Can we see proposed changes before they take effect? | Yes, with the affected products listed | Upcoming view of proposed changes and affected products |
| Approval | Can anything be republished without approval? | No | No. Previous versions are retained |
| AI and classification | Does AI decide hazard classifications? | No. Rules decide and people approve | No. A deterministic rules engine classifies |
Buyer roundups for this category often name VelocityEHS, Chemwatch, 3E, Sphera, EcoOnline, ExactSDS, TotalSDS, and MySDS. Some of these tools are built to manage SDS libraries at sites that use chemicals, and others include SDS authoring for manufacturers. Whichever you evaluate, ask the questions above.
HazCom 2024 and other dated deadlines
Monitoring covers changes to lists and rules. Some changes also come with fixed compliance dates, such as the OSHA HazCom 2024 deadlines. See our guide to the November 20, 2026 HazCom deadline and the HCS 2024 compliance checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What is SDS regulatory-change monitoring?
It is software that tracks updates to the regulatory lists and rules that feed your safety data sheets, checks each change against your products, and flags the SDSs that need revision.
Which regulatory lists should SDS software monitor?
At minimum, the exposure-limit, hazard-reporting, restriction, chemical-inventory, harmonized-classification, and transport lists for every market you sell into. Ask the vendor for the full list by name.
How quickly should a list change reach my SDSs?
Ask the vendor for a stated time. Valenc reviews each update and has it live within 24 hours of a regulator's release, then flags affected SDSs.
Does monitoring software update my SDSs automatically?
It should flag affected SDSs and route them for revision, but a person should approve every change before an SDS is republished. In Valenc, nothing is republished without approval.
Does Valenc use AI to classify products?
No. AI helps find regulatory updates and review documents. Classification is done by a deterministic rules engine, and your team approves each SDS.
