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Development of a global portal to information on chemical substances (eChemPortal)
The OECD has initiated in 2004 the development of eChemPortal, a global portal to information on chemical substances, in response to the request by the World Summit on Sustainable Development to improve the availability of hazard data on chemicals. eChemPortal is also a contribution to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), and especially its recommendation to "Facilitate public access to appropriate information and knowledge of chemicals throughout their life cycle...".
The OECD Secretariat is working with several member countries (the United States, Japan, Canada), the European Commission, the International Council of Chemical Industry Associations, the International Programme on Chemical Safety, UNEP Chemicals and Environmental NGO's to develop this project.
A first version of eChemPortal with limited functions is available since mid-2007. This first version gives users free public access to existing assessments and datasets for as many chemicals as possible.
At this time, the following databases participate in eChemPortal:
- Chemical Safety Information from Intergovernmental Organizations (INCHEM), maintained collaboratively by the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) at the World Health Organization and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
- Data Bank of Environmental Properties of Chemicals (EnviChem), maintained by Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)
- European chemical substances information system (ESIS), European Commission (European Chemicals Bureau)
- Existing Substances Assessment Repository (CESAR), Canada
- Hazardous Substance Data Bank (HSDB) managed by the National Library of Medicine in the United States
- High Production Volume Information System (HPVIS), maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Information on Biodegradation and Bioconcentration of the Existing Chemical Substances in the Chemical Risk information platform (CHRIP), maintained by National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), Japan
- Integrated Risk Information System (US EPA IRIS) maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
- The Japan Existing Chemical Database (JECDB), managed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) Priority Existing Chemical Assessment Reports, maintained by NICNAS, Australia
- New Zealand Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Chemical Classification Information Database (HSNO CCID), maintained by ERMA, New Zealand
- OECD Initial Assessment Reports for HPV Chemicals including Screening Information Data Sets (SIDS) as maintained by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Chemicals
- Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development High Production Volume Database (OECD HPV), maintained by the OECD Secretariat in collaboration with OECD member countries
- Screening Information Data Sets (SIDS) export files in for High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals in International Uniform Chemical Identification Database (IUCLID) format as maintained by the OECD
- Substance Registry Services (SRS), maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
A brochure or a slide presentation providing further details on the eChemPortal project are available.
There will be incremental build-up of this first version of eChemPortal. Other databases will be added in the near future.
Furthermore, it is foreseen in a second phase to develop a Portal with extended search functionalities. The second version of eChemPortal allow the user to search the publicly accessible data via standardized query forms (e.g., search by chemical name or toxicity endpoint).
The current web site will be updated periodically to reflect the advancements of the development of eChemPortal.
Other useful lists and databases
The EXICHEM database is a pointer system on current, planned and completed activities on existing chemicals in OECD Member countries and other relevant bodies. It was created to provide information for the OECD Member countries on "who is doing what with which chemicals", (e.g. information gathering, testing, evaluation), in order to assist countries to identify opportunities for co-operation on specific activities on existing chemicals and to avoid duplication of work.
The OECD List of HPV Chemicals serves as the overall priority list from which chemicals are selected for SIDS data gathering and testing and initial hazard assessment. It is compiled by the Secretariat on the basis of regular submissions by Member countries reporting those industrial chemicals for which a Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number had been assigned and which are produced or imported at levels greater than 1000 tonnes per year. The most recent OECD HPV Chemicals List is that compiled in 2007 (published in 2009), which contains 4,638 substances and is based on submissions of eight national inventories and that of the European Union: The 2007 OECD List of High Production Volume Chemicals (PDF).
The status of all HPV chemicals within the process of investigation in the OECD HPV Chemicals Programme is recorded in the HPV Database. It contains the list of all OECD HPV chemicals together with any annotations on each chemical which has been provided by Member countries to the Secretariat. Each chemical is identified as to exactly which stage it is at in the assessment process, and for those chemicals which have already been selected for sponsoring. Once the assessment of a chemical is finalised it shows the conclusions and recommendation of the assessment. A link to internet pages where completed assessments can be downloaded is also included.
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