Toxicological Information Resources

Updated: August 29, 2011

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

• Toxicological Profile Information Sheet

  By Congressional mandate, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) produces "toxicological profiles" for hazardous substances found at National Priorities List (NPL) sites. These hazardous substances are ranked based on frequency of occurrence at NPL sites, toxicity, and potential for human exposure. Toxicological profiles are developed from a priority list of 275 substances. ATSDR also prepares toxicological profiles for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on substances related to federal sites. So far, 269 toxicological profiles have been published or are under development as "finals" or "drafts for public comment" 244 profiles were published as finals; 106 profiles have been updated. Currently, 16 profiles are being revised based on public comments received and 1profile is being developed as public comment draft. These profiles cover more than 250 substances. Toxicological profiles are developed in two stages: (1) DRAFTS: The toxicological profiles are first produced as drafts. ATSDR announces in the Federal Register the release of these draft profiles for a 90-day public comment period. Request draft toxicological profiles from ATSDR's Division of Toxicology. (2) FINALS: After the 90-day comment period, ATSDR considers incorporating all comments into the documents. ATSDR finalizes the profiles and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) distributes them.
  

Environmental Protection Agency

• Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

  The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), prepared and maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is an electronic data base containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various chemicals in the environment. IRIS was initially developed for EPA staff in response to a growing demand for consistent information on chemical substances for use in risk assessments, decision-making and regulatory activities. The information in IRIS is intended for those without extensive training in toxicology, but with some knowledge of health sciences. The heart of the IRIS system is its collection of computer files covering individual chemicals. These chemical files contain descriptive and quantitative information in the following categories:

  • Oral reference doses and inhalation reference concentrations (RfDs and RfCs, respectively) for chronic noncarcinogenic health effects.
  • Hazard identification, oral slope factors, and oral and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effect.
    
    
• Master Chemical Integrator

  Envirofacts Master Chemical Integrator (EMCI) is used to integrate the varied chemical identifications used in four program system components currently available in Envirofacts. EMCI uses an internal identification system that is based on Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers and names as a cross reference to link chemicals in AFS, PCS, RCRIS and TRIS. EMCI is similar to FINDS in that it provides a common means of identifying chemicals across program systems. The integrator eliminates the need for a user to know how a chemical substance is identified when accessing environmental data such as discharge limits, reported releases, etc., from different program office systems.

Geological Survey

• Biological and Ecotoxicological Characteristics of Terrestrial Vertebrate Species Residing in Estuaries

  The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program is designed to assess and monitor the effects of environmental contaminants on biological resources, particularly those under the stewardship of the Department of the Interior. Information on this site includes: species characterizations; biological characteristics; contaminant exposure data; and contaminant response data.

• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program

  The Toxics Program conducts (1) intensive field investigations of representative cases of subsurface contamination at local releases; and (2) watershed- and regional-scale investigations of contamination affecting aquatic ecosystems from nonpoint and distributed point sources. Investigations of the Progam include: Subsurface Point-Source Contamination and Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination.

• Environmental Impact Analysis Data Links

  This page was compiled to provide environmental professionals a source for online environmental datasets. It is composed of links to other websites containing datasets on such subject areas as agriculture, endangered species, energy, hydrology, meteorology, pollution prevention, socio-economic, spatial analysis, wetlands, state and regional, and international.

National Institutes of Health

• Hazardous Substances Data Bank

  The HSDB is a factual, non-bibliographic data bank focusing upon the toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals. It is enhanced with data from such related areas as emergency handling procedures, environmental fate, human exposure, detection methods, and regulatory requirements. Data are derived from a core set of standard texts and monographs, government documents, technical reports and the primary journal literature. The HSDB contains complete references for all data sources utilized.

  The HSDB is fully peer reviewed by the Scientific Review Panel (SRP), a committee of experts drawn from the major subject disciplines within the data bank's scope. The HSDB is organized by individual chemical records, with over 4500 chemical records contained in the file. The file is being built, maintained, reviewed, and updated on the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Toxicology Data Network™ (TOXNET) system, and has been supported, in part, by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). HSDB contains approximately 150 data fields arranged in eleven broad subject categories, plus a category for administrative information. These categories are structured as follows:

• Administrative Information
• Manufacturing/Use Information
• Safety and Handling
• Pharmacology
• Exposure Standards and Regulations
• Additional References
• Substance Identification
• Chemical and physical Properties
• Toxicity/Biomedical Effects
• Environmental/Fate/Exposure Potential
• Monitoring and Analysis Methods
• Express Update
  
  
• TOXNET - TOXicology Data NETwork

  TOXNET (TOXicology Data NETwork) is a computerized system of files oriented to toxicology and related areas. It is managed by the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) and runs on Sun servers in a UNIX-based environment. TOXNET provides a free Web-based interface that permits easy searching of the following files:

• HSDB™ (Hazardous Substances Data Bank)
• IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System)
• CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System)
• GENE-TOX (Genetic Toxicology)
• TRI (Toxic Chemical Release Inventory) Files

It also has a substantial list of Toxicology Literature Files like DART (Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology) and its backfile ETICBACK, and EMIC (Environmental Mutagenesis Information Center) and its backfile EMICBACK.

Other

• Wildlife Toxicity Reference Values (TRVs) for Ecological Risk Assessments

  The Wildlife Toxicity Assessment Program, part of the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, has developed, and is implementing, a standard method for developing toxicological profiles and toxicity reference values (TRV) for military-related substances that may potentially pose risks to wildlife. The program has written a standard practice for the development and documentation of wildlife TRVs and is implementing this Standard Practice for environmental chemicals of military concern. The Standard Practice is primarily intended for use by this Center to generate wildlife TRVs that are defensible and to provide a standard set of information for practitioners in the field. If a TRV relevant to a particular Army ERA has been generated by the Center using this methodology, then its use is expected unless an alternative can be reasonably defended. The Center is implementing this program in a phased approach, focusing upon the highest priority chemicals first. Wildife Toxicity Assessment Reports are currently available for 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT), Nitroglycerine (NG), 1,3,5-Trinitrobenzene (TNB), Dinitrobenzene (DNB), 2-amino-4,6- and 4-amino-2,6- Dinitrotoluene (aminoDNTs), HMX, and PETN.

• California Wildlife Exposure Factor and Toxicity Database (California EPA)

  The California Wildlife Exposure Factor and Toxicity Database (Cal/Ecotox) is a compilation of exposure factors (i.e., ecological and physiological data) and toxicity data for a number of California mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. The database has been created by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, in collaboration with the University of California at Davis, to provide an information resource for risk assessors conducting ecological risk assessments in California. Cal/Ecotox is searchable by species or chemical. In addition, complete species reports are available for downloading.

• DAIN Metadatabase of Internet Resources for Environmental Chemicals at the University of Kassel

  This resource is designed to help you finding relevant databases for environmental chemicals worldwide. You can search our database by name or by subject. The subject search provides several structured search formats.

• ECDIN - Environmental Chemicals Data and Information Network

  ECDIN is a factual user-friendly data-bank which can be accessed directly by users through either CD-ROM or via Internet (the last version of the CD-ROM has been released during 1993). At present, the INTERNET information of ECDIN/PHATOX can be accessed starting from the chemical substance and finding the data (direct search). Earliest in 1998 it is foreseen to implement the retrieval with the search by key-words.

  The data contained in ECDIN/PHATOX are extracted from original published literature of from existing databanks, with the collaboration of international expert for the evaluation and the validation of the information before its storage. The users of ECDIN/PHATOX have expressed interest and have recommended that the Data Center will be expanded in order to incorporate some operational modules which will help them in their specific field of activity. The priority listing of the new modules as identified by end users is:

• ECDIN/PHATOX as a focal point for Antipoisoning Control Centers.
• Education and training modules.
• SAR/QSAR Models for Drug Design.
  
  
• Environmental Contaminants Encyclopedia

  The Environmental Contaminants Encyclopedia is a summary/compilation of information of importance to general environmental toxicology rather than human toxicology. Some human information was also summarized when it was easy to do so or seemed important to general understanding. This product differs from existing databases in that it has an environmental toxicology emphasis and it summarizes information on these issues into a single, easily searchable source. Tools such as this one are needed because at the same time there is an "information explosion" going on, many environmental specialists are too busy to keep up with the literature.

  This website offers easily accessible information organized alphabetically by chemical name. Contaminants specialists, environmental toxicologists, hazardous waste specialists, environmental risk assessors, natural resource damage assessors, contaminants researchers, land managers, spill responders, water quality specialists, and natural resource managers, are all among intended users.

• The Environmental Residue-Effects Database (ERED)

  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Residue-Effects Database (ERED) is a compilation of data, taken from the literature, where biological effects (e.g., reduced survival, growth, etc.) and tissue contaminant concentrations were simultaneously measured in the same organism. Currently, the database is limited to those instances where biological effects observed in an organism are linked to a specific contaminant within its tissues.

• The Herptox Page

  Mainatained by the Canada Centre for Inland Waters, this web site is the source for information pertaining to the effects of environmental contaminants on reptiles and amphibians.

• International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) Database

  ITER is a database of human health risk values and supporting information. This is a test version of a new ITER database expanded to118 chemical files, with information from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and Health Canada. Improvements to ITER include direct links to EPA's IRIS and to ATSDR's MRL page from each chemical file, and the ability to print reports. The data are presented in a comparative fashion, allowing the user to view what conclusions each organization has reached. A brief explanation of differences continues to be provided. Information from the World Health Organization and the RIVM (The Netherlands) will be included in the near future.

• Toxic Chemicals in Coastal Environments

  NOAA's Coastal Protection and Restoration Division (CPRD) provdies sediment chemistry, sediment toxicity, and tissue chemistry data from specific watershed projects.

• Toxic Release Inventory Fact Sheets

  This page contains links to EPA factsheets for every regulated toxic chemical. Presented by Open Data Solutions, Inc., of Alexandria, VA.