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TRI2002 Released
TRI2002 was released to the public on TOXNET on August 31. The new release contains 93,380 records. (10/13/2004)

Advanced version of the ChemIDplus
The Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) announces a new Advanced version of the ChemIDplus chemical search database. It takes the place of our original ChemIDplus search page and offers more searching options and system stability. Following are some of the highlights of this new search interface.
  1. Name, CAS RN, Classification Code, Locator and Formula searching in the original ChemIDplus format for over 368,000 substances. Over 1.3 million chemical names are available as well as over 100 Locator URLs pointing other resources pertinent to a given chemical.
  2. Chemical Structure searching using the newest MDL ISISDirect software, by substructure, similarity, and individual structure.
  3. Chemical Structure display using ChemAxon’s Marvin product, which generates a browser friendly png (portable network graphic) image and thus doesn’t require the Chime plugin for display.
  4. Chemical Structure drawing input by the ChemAxon Marvin Java applet, editor, as well as the MDL Chime and ISISDraw combination.
  5. Numeric searching by biological endpoints, including LD50 and LC50. The user may specify Test, Species, Route, and Effect, and both ranging and exact match are available.
  6. Numeric chemical property search and display on eight fields such as Melting Point and Boiling Point, Water Solubility and LogP.
  7. Numeric molecular weight ranging and exact search.
  8. Tracking of your query history, including display of structures searched, and the capability to re-run or modify old searches during a session.
  9. Much longer session times than previously available. There is now a half hour of inactivity before the session ends.

These new capabilities provide users more advanced search options and system stability, and complement the recently released ChemIDplus Lite version which does not allow structure searching. These Advanced and Lite interfaces run against the same ChemIDplus database as before, with the addition of new chemical and biological data tables to give property searching capability. (09/24/2004)

TOXNET's "Search All Databases" Now Includes Links to Three Additional Databases

The TOXNET "Search All Databases" function now includes results from the Household Products Database (HPD), Haz-Map, and TOXMAP.

Results for the nine core TOXNET databases continue to appear as links under the "Records Found" header.

A new "Other Related NLM Resources" header lists results from searching the "Health Effects" fields of the HPD and all text fields of Haz-Map, with "Show Me" links to the data retrieved. Results for TOXMAP appear under the "Other Related NLM Resources" header via a "Map It" link.

Please note that the number of records found from a TOXNET "Search All Databases" query may differ slightly from the results retrieved from searching the individual databases. This is due to variations in search formats required by different databases.
(7/29/2004)

WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders)
The National Library of Medicine (NLM), Division of Specialized Information Services, has released a handheld application designed to assist first responders during hazardous material incidents.

WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including chemical identification support, physical characteristics, emergency medical treatment, containment and suppression information. The WISER application extracts related, relevant content from NLM's Hazardous Substance Data Bank (HSDB), an authoritative information resource.

Features

  • Rapid access to the most important information for 390 hazardous substances via a PDA
  • Comprehensive decision support:
    • Assistance in identification of an unknown substance and
    • Guidance on immediate actions necessary to save lives and protect the environment
  • Access to NLM’s Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), which contains detailed peer-reviewed information on hazardous substances
  • Mobile support, providing first responders with critical information where they need it, when they need it
  • Intuitive, simple, and logical user interface.

Download Wiser for the Palm OS at http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov.
(7/23/2004)

Household Products Database
Features added in June:
  • Links to 5,000+ consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the manufacturers.
  • Pet Care category
  • Additional brands (including hair color products)
  • Product Safety and Recall Lists (from the FDA and CPSC Web sites)
  • Frequently Asked Questions page
  • Link from HPD's "Chemical Information Page" to PubMed to help users find effects of the chemicals to humans in the published biomedical literature
  • Ability to search only in a particular product category
    (6/16/2004)
PubMed's LinkOut Now Connects Users to HSDB
LinkOut provides PubMed users with connections to web-accessible resources, including full-text articles, consumer health information, and supplementary data, related to a PubMed citation. These resources expand on the information in the citation.

PubMed users can access information for over 3,000 Hazardous Substances Data Bank chemical substances via LinkOut. HSDB is a factual data file that focuses on the toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals.

How to use LinkOut to retrieve HSDB information:

  • Click on the word "Links" to the right of each citation
  • Choose "LinkOut" from the menu that appears
  • Look for the heading, "MOLECULAR BIOLOGY DATABASES"
  • HSDB links, if present, will appear under the "Hazardous Substances Databank" heading
    (5/20/2004)

New Feature for TRI
Users have the option to search all years of TRI simultaneously by choosing the Select All feature now available. TRI files cover the years 1987-2001.

Review of PDA Applications in Toxicology and Environmental Health
The National Library of Medicine's Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) has introduced the Review of PDA Applications in Toxicology and Environmental Health, an ongoing descriptive review of selected PDA applications in the fields of toxicology and environmental health.

Individual reports in the review series are based on downloadable demo versions of selected PDA applications. Each review typically covers: General Information, Intended Users, Authorship/Data Source, Contents, Navigation, Requirements, Application Type/Price, Availability, Useful Web Links, and Updates when applicable.

SIS staff welcomes any comments on completed reviews or suggestions for additional reviews of other such applications not currently included (tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov).


Eight new chemicals are now available in Tox Town. The new chemicals include common air pollutants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency: Nitrogen Oxides, Particulate Matter and Sulfur Dioxide. Other new chemicals are Benzene and Chromium. Three large groups of chemicals-- Pesticides, Phthalates, and Volatile Organic Compounds-- are also described.

Tox Town's City scene now provides new information for dental care providers and other dental office and dental lab employees.

Click on the new Pharmacy in the City scene for information about your medicines, cosmetics, dietary supplements, drug and medical device safely, latex allergy, occupational health for healthcare providers, vitamin and mineral supplements, and more.

International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) database
The International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) database has been added to the TOXNET system. It is a product of the non-profit group, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA). ITER is a database of human health risk values for over 600 chemicals of environmental concern from major organizations worldwide.

A unique feature of ITER is the display of this information in tabular form, allowing for side-by-side comparisons of risk values across organizations. Accompanying the risk data tables are synopses prepared by TERA, which include explanations for any differences among the organizations’ values.

Welcome to the City
Tox Town now features Tox City, which explores urban environmental threats.

EPA's TRI2001 joins TOXNET
EPA's TRI2001 has joined TOXNET. TRI2001 has approximately 95,259 records. TRI1995-2001 are now available on TOXNET.
(10/8/2003)

Household Products Database
The Household Products Database enables users to find out what's in the products under the kitchen sink, in the garage, in the bathroom, and on the laundry room shelves, as well as about the potential health effects of these items.

The database links over 4,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), provided by the manufacturers, which are designed to provide workers and emergency personnel with the proper procedures for handling or working with a particular substance. It also allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients. It is designed to help answer questions like these:

  • What chemicals are contained in specific brands and in what percentage?
  • Which products contain specified chemicals?
  • Who manufactures a specific brand?
  • How can the manufacturer be contacted?
  • What are the potential health effects (acute and chronic) of the chemical ingredients in a specific brand?
  • What other information is available about such chemicals in the toxicology-related databases of the National Library of Medicine.

The Household Products Database allows users to browse a product category, such as Pesticides or Personal Care, by alphabetical listing or by brand name. Products can also be searched by type or by manufacturer. Information on chemicals can be obtained by browsing an alphabetical listing of product ingredients or chemical names. The user can also search on a chemical's unique identifier. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for a product can be searched for health effects via text words. For more information, users can launch a search for a product or ingredient in TOXNET from the product's record in the database. The web address is http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/
(7/2/2003)

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