United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

Fact Sheet
Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program

The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) evolved from the Toxicology Information Program (TIP) that was established in 1967 at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in response to recommendations made in the 1966 report "Handling of Toxicological Information," prepared by the President's Science Advisory Committee. The TIP objectives were to: (1) create automated toxicology data banks, and (2) provide toxicology information and data services. In the mid-1990's, the mission of TIP was expanded to include environmental health. TEHIP, by creating, organizing, and disseminating toxicology and environmental health information, now serves as a premier information portal for resources in these subject areas.

TEHIP maintains a comprehensive toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to resources produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations. This web site includes links to databases, bibliographies, tutorials, and other scientific and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is responsible for the Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET®), an integrated system of toxicology and environmental health databases that are available free of charge on the web. The following databases are available for searching via TOXNET:

HSDB® (Hazardous Substances Data Bank) is a comprehensive, scientifically reviewed, factual database containing records for over 5,000 toxic or potentially toxic chemicals. It contains extensive information in such areas as toxicity, environmental fate, human exposure, chemical safety, waste disposal, emergency handling, and regulatory requirements. The data are taken from a core set of monographs augmented with government documents, special reports, and primary journal literature.
TOXLINE® is a bibliographic database covering the biochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological effects of drugs and other chemicals. It contains over 3 million citations, almost all with abstracts and/or index terms and CAS Registry Numbers.
ChemIDplus® provides access to structure and nomenclature information for the identification of chemical substances cited in NLM databases. The database contains over 380,000 chemical records, of which over 290,000 include chemical structures.
IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) is an online database built by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It contains EPA carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk assessment and regulatory information on over 500 chemicals. The risk assessment data have been scientifically reviewed by groups of EPA scientists and represent EPA consensus. IRIS also contains literature references.
ITER contains data in support of human health risk assessments. It is compiled by Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) and contains over 650 chemical records. ITER provides a comparison of international risk assessment information in a side-by-side format and explains differences in risk values derived by different organizations. ITER data, focusing on hazard identification and dose-response assessment, is extracted from each agency’s assessment and contains links to the source documentation.
TRI (Toxic Chemical Release Inventory) contains information on the annual estimated releases of toxic chemicals to the environment for the reporting years 1987-2006. This series of files is mandated by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and is based upon data submitted to the EPA from industrial facilities around the country. Data include names and addresses of the facilities, and the amount of certain toxic chemicals they release to the air, water, or land, or transfer to waste sites. There is information on over 650 chemicals and chemical categories. Pollution prevention data is also reported by each facility for each chemical. There were two changes to reporting requirements for the 2006 data. Facilities were required to submit appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes rather than the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes previously used. To do trends analysis, EPA assigned NAICS codes to prior years’ data, so now both SIC codes and NAICS codes are searchable on TOXNET. EPA also expanded Form A eligibility to include PBT chemicals in 2006.
CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System) is a factual data bank sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. It contains evaluated data and information, derived from both short and long-term bioassays on over 9,000 chemicals. Studies relate to carcinogens, mutagens, tumor promoters, cocarcinogens, metabolites and inhibitors of carcinogens.
GENE-TOX is a data bank created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with genetic toxicology test results on over 3,200 chemicals. In the field of genetic toxicology, selected mutagenicity assay systems and the source literature are reviewed by work panels of scientific experts for each of the test systems under evaluation, and the GENE-TOX data bank is the product of these data review activities. Each test system in GENE-TOX has been peer reviewed and is referenced.
DART®/ETIC (Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology/Environmental Teratology Information Center) is a bibliographic database covering teratology and developmental toxicology literature published since 1950.
LactMed (Drugs and Lactation Database) is a database of drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant.
CPDB (Carcinogenic Potency Database) This database was developed at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. It provides standardized analyses of the results of 6540 chronic, long-term animal cancer tests that have been conducted since the 1950's and reported in the general published literature or by the National Cancer Institute and the National Toxicology Program.

The TOXNET "Multiple Databases" option allows for simultaneous searching of HSDB, IRIS, CCRIS, and GENE-TOX, ITER and LactMed.

In addition to TOXNET, other toxicology and environmental health-related web resources available from TEHIP include:

Tox Town® is an interactive guide to commonly encountered toxic substances, your health, and the environment. It uses color, graphics, sounds and animation to convey connections between chemicals, the environment, and the public's health. The Town, City, Farm, Port and U.S. Mexico Border are designed to provide facts on toxic chemicals found in everyday locations, information about how the environment can impact human health, non-technical descriptions of chemicals, links to authoritative chemical information on the Internet, and Internet resources on environmental health topics. Tox Town's target audience is students above elementary-school level, educators, and the general public. It is a companion to the extensive information in the TOXNET collection of databases that are typically used by toxicologists and health professionals. Tox Town also offers some resources in Spanish (http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/espanol/).
Household Products Database is a resource that provides information on the potential health effects of chemicals contained in more than 7,000 common household products used inside and around the home. The database allows users to browse a product category, such as 'Pesticides' or 'Personal Care,' by alphabetical listing of brand names. Products can also be searched by type, manufacturer, product ingredient/chemical name and by health effects. The record for each product shows the ingredients as reported in the manufacturer's Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and includes other information such as handling, disposal, and health effects.
Haz-Map® is an occupational toxicology database designed primarily for health and safety professionals, but also for consumers seeking information about the health effects of exposure to chemicals and biologicals at work.  It links jobs and hazardous tasks with occupational diseases and their symptoms.  The 1,595 chemicals and biological agents in the database are related to industrial processes and other activities such as hobbies.  The linkage indicates the potential for exposure to the agents.  The 224 occupational diseases and their symptoms are associated with hazardous job tasks.  This association indicates an increased risk for significant exposure and subsequent disease.
TOXMAP® is a web site from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) that uses maps of the United States to show the amount and location of toxic chemicals released into the environment. Data is derived from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which provides information on the releases of toxic chemicals into the environment as reported annually by industrial facilities around the United States.
WISER® (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) is an application designed to assist first responders in hazardous material incidents. It is available for Microsoft Windows™ platforms (both PCs and Windows Mobile devices) and Palm OS mobile devices. A web-based WISER (WebWISER http://webwiser.nlm.nih.gov) supports web browsers for both PCs and PDAs, including BlackBerry and iPhone. WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including chemical identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression information. Other features include radiological support, including data for 20 radioisotopes and a general "ionizing radiation" substance, and tools/reference materials for radiological incidents and an ERG 2008 Tool.
ALTBIB® Since 1992, TEHIP has produced the quarterly bibliography of methods and procedures helpful in supporting the development, testing, application, and validation of alternatives to the use of vertebrates in biomedical research and toxicology testing. These multiple bibliographies of Alternatives to the Use of Live Vertebrates in Biomedical Research and Testing have now been combined into one easily searchable database containing all 10 years of data.
DIRLINE® (Directory of Information Resources Online) is an online directory of over 8,500 health-related organizations and other resources which are willing to respond to public inquiries in their specialty areas, including toxicology and environmental health organizations.

TEHIP is part of the Specialized Information Services (SIS) Division of NLM. SIS is responsible for information resources and services in toxicology, environmental health, chemistry, HIV/AIDS, and specialized topics in minority health. SIS provides access to online databases, responds to queries, produces bibliographies and other publications, and works with other Federal government agencies to provide health information to the world. For more detailed information about SIS programs, please see our most recent annual report.

Further Information

Inquiries about the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program should be addressed to:

National Library of Medicine
Specialized Information Services
Two Democracy Plaza, Suite 510
6707 Democracy Boulevard, MSC 5467
Bethesda, MD 20892-5467
Telephone: (301) 496-1131
FAX (301) 480-3537
e-mail: tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov
URL: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro.html

For general information on NLM services, contact:

National Library of Medicine
Customer Service
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Telephone: 1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)
e-mail: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/contacts/contact.html

A complete list of NLM Fact Sheets is available at:
(alphabetical list) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsheets.html
(subject list): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsubj.html

Or write to:

FACT SHEETS
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894

Phone: (301) 496-6308
Fax: (301) 496-4450
email: publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov

Last reviewed: 23 March 2009
Last updated: 23 March 2009
First published: 23 February 2005
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanent: Stable Content
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