SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

National Library of Medicine Expanding Its Chemical Databases

Library seeks to address growing demands from scientists and the public for data on environmental and hazardous substances

It is well known that the National Li­brary of Medicine, a unit of the Na­tional Institutes of Health in Bethes-da, Md., has the world's largest col­lection of biomedical li terature. Access to much of this material is available through MEDLARS, NLM's on-line Medical Literature Analysis & Retrieval System.

What may be less well known is that, in addition to its primary focus on biomedical information, NLM has also been actively expanding the scope of its chemistry-related files on MEDLARS in recent years. This in­creased emphasis on chemical infor­mation arises from growing demands

for such data from researchers and the general public, sometimes in re­sponse to federal legislation on envi­ronmental and hazardous substances issues.

Formerly, chemical-related MED­LARS files focused mainly on toxi­cology and drug effects. More re­cently, however, "the emphasis has changed to accommodate new infor­mation needs relating to environ­mental issues, occupational health and safety, and hazardous substanc­es," explains Melvin L. Spann, chief of biomedical information services at NLM.

Want to know the top polluters in a state, or the top pollutants by chemical name? In the Emergency Planning & Community Right-To-Know Act, part of the Superfund Amendments & Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986, Congress mandated access to such information by the general public. This access is now provided in an on-line form by the

TRI (Toxics Release Inventory) series of databases. The TRI files are found on TOXNET (Toxicology Data Net­work), a component of MEDLARS containing files on hazardous chem­icals and environmental health.

Under the terms of SARA, indus­trial facilities are required to report data annually to the Environmental Protection Agency on releases to the air, water, or land of some 300 haz­ardous substances. EPA compiles these data and sends them to NLM, which then makes them available as the TRI files. Additional data on air emissions will be included in TRI in the near future owing to the recent passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act.

To ease public access to the emis­sions data on TRI, NLM has devel­oped a simple menu-driven user in­terface for the file. Search results can either be scanned on-line, down­loaded to a user's computer, or printed in an off-line mode at NLM and mailed to the user. To provide

Several NLM databases are of special interest to chemists

CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System) contains evaluated data derived from short- and long-term bioassays on 2341 chemicals.

ChemID (Chemical Identification) provides Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Numbers, chemical names, and other data on more than 180,000 chemical substances.

• CHEMLINE (Chemical Dictionary Online) is a directory of chemical names, synonyms, CAS Registry Num­bers, molecular formulas, and other data on more than 1 million chemical compounds. It serves as a pointer to other NLM files.

DART (Developmental & Repro­ductive Toxicology database) contains citations to the literature on teratology

and other aspects of developmental and reproductive toxicology.

EMIC (Environmental Mutagen In­formation Center database) provides bibliographic citations on chemical, bi­ological, and physical agents tested for mutagenic activity.

• HSDB (Hazardous Substances Data Bank) is a peer-reviewed file cov­ering toxicity, environmental fate, hu­man exposure, chemical safety, waste disposal, emergency handling, and reg­ulations for nearly 4300 toxic or poten­tially toxic chemicals.

IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) contains health risk and regu­latory information from the Environ­mental Protection Agency on 427 chemicals.

RTECS (Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances) has National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health data on skin/eye irritation, carci­nogenicity, mutagenicity, and reproduc­tive consequences for about 104,000 chemicals.

TOXLINE (Toxicology Information Online) and TOXLIT (Toxicology Litera­ture from Special Sources) list refer­ences (about 3 million records) on the pharmacological, biochemical, physio­logical, and toxicological effects of drugs and other chemicals.

The TRI (Toxics Release Invento­ry) series provides information on annu­al releases of toxic chemicals to the environment, based on industrial data submitted to EPA.

November 19, 1990 C&EN 15

Science/Technology

searchers with a better perspective on possible health consequences of chemical releases reported in TRI, TOXNET also will soon include TRI-FACTS, a file describing the TRI chemicals.

The concept of providing public access to hazardous emissions data seems to be working because NLM sees continued growth in use of TRI, not only by organizations but also by unaffiliated individuals. In October, 11% of connect hours to TRI were by individuals, a percentage that has been increasing regularly. Bruno M. Vasta, administrator of TOXNET, be­lieves that a substantial number of individual users are members of the local emergency planning commit­tees set up under SARA.

According to Henry M. Kissman, associate director of specialized infor­mation services at NLM, several oth­er MEDLARS files provide access to data on chemical compounds and their attributes. These files include HSDB, the Hazardous Substances Data Bank; RTECS, the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances; DART, the Developmental & Repro­ductive Toxicology database; EMIC, the Environmental Mutagen Infor­mation Center database; and GENE-TOX, a genetic toxicity file based on data from EPA. HSDB, RTECS, and DART are currently available, and EMIC and GENETOX will be coming off the drawing boards soon.

One of the first chemically in­dexed databases on MEDLARS was a toxicology file called TOXLINE, set up in the early 1970s as a guide to the literature on health effects of drugs and other chemicals. Soon af­ter this file was established, it be­came evident that a chemical dictio­nary was needed to help users search it. This resulted in the devel­opment of CHEMLINE, a chemical dictionary and directory file that now contains more than 1 million compounds found in TOXLINE and other NLM databases. Most of the information for CHEMLINE is ob­tained by NLM under license from Chemical Abstracts Service.

Earlier this year, NLM also set up a new chemical directory file called ChemlD. ChemID is similar to CHEMLINE, except that the data come from publicly available sourc­es. An important feature on ChemID

is SUPERLIST, a cross-reference ca­pability that points to the presence of a chemical on any of 16 regulato­ry lists. Connect-hour charges for ChemID are lower than for CHEM­LINE, but ChemID has a more limit­ed coverage.

Also of interest to the chemical community is an innovative system called ANSWER that is designed to assist those responding to hazardous chemical emergencies. The heart of the system is a CD-ROM database on the medical and hazard manage­ment of exposures to more than 1000 hazardous substances. Also in­cluded are an "experience" file on past incidents involving the same chemical or chemicals, an air disper­sion modeling package, and a mod­ule that provides rapid access to ex­ternal on-line databases.

The complexity of many NLM da­tabases does require a certain level of skill on the part of the user. Therefore, NLM has an extensive training and outreach program that includes classroom instruction, quick reference guides, and comput­er-based demo disks and tutorials. A

When National Manufacturing Week takes to the floor at McCor-mick Place in Chicago next April 8-11, the environment will be part and parcel of the group of manufactur­ing industry trade shows brought together under that name. Joining seven other shows will be a new En­vironmental Technology Exposition & Conference (ETE).

ETE has a number of unusual as­pects. It is designed to have a broad base, bringing together technologies that range across the issues of air and water pollution, solid waste manage­ment, recycling, and hazardous waste management. According to ETE '91 show manager Jill Vanderlin, the ex­position—65% booked at this point, with some 300 exhibitors expected— will be augmented with a conference package of papers, short courses, and workshops.

ETE is being produced by Cahners Exposition Group, a member of Reed Exposition Companies. Among the other shows making up the Nation­al Manufacturing Week event are

software package called GRATEFUL MED, a user-friendly interface to many of the NLM files, is also avail­able to ease searching.

Fees for database access average about $30 per connect hour, with re­duced rates during nonpeak hours. Anybody can apply to NLM for an access code, with no initiation fees or minimum fees required. Besides an access code, all one needs to per­form a MEDLARS search are a ter­minal or computer, a phone line, and a modem with communications software. Some local libraries also conduct searches for individuals.

The increase in chemical-related information services on MEDLARS represents an effort by NLM, in co­operation with other federal agen­cies, to develop databases relevant to today's chemical and environmental issues. "Not only is the public more interested, but Congress is telling the public, 'We will see that this information is made available to you,'" says Spann. "This has been a major motivation for expansion of these programs."

Stu Borman

the National Plant Engineering & Maintenance Show & Conference and the National Design Engineer­ing Show & Conference.

Vanderlin notes that a number of international sponsorships are being lined up for ETE. Cahners Publish-ing's Pollution Engineering magazine is being joined in the U.S. by the National Registry of Environmental Professionals and the Gas Research Institute. The Department of Trade & Industry and the Department of Environment from the U.K. are part of the international sponsorship, as is the Association of French Me­chanical Industries.

ETE is unique, Vanderlin says, in offering workshops and a half-day exam for certification by the Nation­al Registry of Environmental Profes­sionals. This nonprofit group works with a number of universities to put together workshops to help people such as auditors, lawyers, and others become certified in the environmen­tal area.

James Krieger

Environmental expo to debut next spring

16 November 19, 1990 C&EN