Fact Sheet
Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) evolved from the Toxicology Information Program (TIP) that was established in 1967 at the (NLM) in response to recommendations made in the 1966 report "Handling of Toxicological Information," prepared by the President's Science Advisory Committee.

TEHIP maintains a comprehensive web site that provides access to resources produced by it 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. TOXNET includes:

• HSDB® (Hazardous Substances Data Bank) provides data for over 5,800 hazardous chemicals. HSDB has information on human exposure, industrial hygiene, emergency handling procedures, environmental fate, regulatory requirements, nanomaterials, and related areas. The information in HSDB has been assessed by a Scientific Review Panel.
• TOXLINE® has references to the biomedical literature on biochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological effects of drugs and other chemicals.  It contains over 4 million citations, almost all with abstracts and/or index terms and CAS Registry Numbers.
• ChemIDplus® provides access to the structure and nomenclature authority files used for the identification of chemical substances cited in NLM databases. The database contains more than 400,000 chemical records, of which over 300,000 include chemical structures.
• IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) contains data in support of human health risk assessment, including hazard identification and dose-response assessments. It is compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and contains descriptive and quantitative information related to human cancer and non-cancer health effects that may result from exposure to substances in the environment. IRIS data is reviewed by EPA scientists and represents EPA consensus.
• ITER contains data in support of human health risk assessments. It is compiled by Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) and contains data from CDC/ATSDR, Health Canada, RIVM, U.S. EPA, IARC, NSF International and independent parties offering peer-reviewed risk values. ITER provides comparison charts of international risk assessment information and explains differences in risk values derived by different organizations.
• TRI (Toxics Release Inventory) is a set of publicly available databases containing information on releases of specific toxic chemicals and their management as waste, as reported annually by U.S. industrial and federal facilities to the EPA. There is information on over 650 chemicals and chemical categories. Pollution prevention data is also reported by each facility for each chemical.
• CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System) is a factual data bank developed 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. CCRIS provides historical information from the years 1985 - 2011. It is no longer updated.
• GENE-TOX provides genetic toxicology (mutagenicity) test data from expert peer review of open scientific literature for more than 3,000 chemicals from the EPA. GENE-TOX provides historical information from the years 1991 - 1998. It is no longer updated.
• DART® (Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology) provides biomedical journals references covering teratology and other aspects of developmental and reproductive toxicology.
• 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) reports analyses of animal cancer tests used in support of cancer risk assessments for human. It was developed by the Carcinogenic Potency Project at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It includes 6,540 chronic, long-term animal cancer tests. CPDB provides historical information from the years 1980 - 2011. It is no longer updated.
• CTD (Comparative Toxicogenomics Database) contains manually curated data describing cross-species chemical-gene/protein interactions and chemical- and gene-disease relationships. CTD was developed at North Carolina State University (NCSU).

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

• ALTBIB® provides access to PubMed®/MEDLINE® citations relevant to alternatives to the use of live vertebrates in biomedical research and testing. Many citations provide access to free full text.
• Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) is a joint project of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The DSLD contains the full label contents from a sample of dietary supplement products marketed in the U.S.
• Drug Information Portal is a gateway to selected drug information from the U.S. National Library of Medicine and other key U.S. government agencies. It includes information on more than 48,000 drugs from the time they are entered into clinical trials (Clinicaltrials.gov) through their entry in the U.S. market place.
• Haz-Map® is an occupational health database designed for health and safety professionals and for consumers seeking information about the adverse effects of workplace exposures to chemical and biological agents. The main links in Haz-Map are between chemicals and occupational diseases. These links have been established using current scientific evidence.
• Household Products Database links over 13,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by manufacturers and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients.
• LiverTox provides up-to-date, comprehensive and unbiased information about drug induced liver injury caused by prescription and nonprescription drugs, herbals and dietary supplements. It is a joint effort of the Liver Disease Research Branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Division of Specialized Information Services of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
• 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.
• ToxMystery is an interactive learning site helping children age 7 to 10 find clues about toxic substances that can lurk in the home. ToxMystery provides a fun, game-like experience, while teaching important lessons about potential environmental health hazards. ToxMystery is available in English and Spanish.
• Tox Town is an interactive guide to the connections between commonly encountered toxic substances, the environment, and the public's health. Tox Town is available in English and Spanish.

TEHIP is part of the Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) which produces information resources covering toxicology, environmental health, outreach to underserved and special populations, HIV/AIDS, drugs and household products, and disaster/emergency preparedness and response.

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: https://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: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/contacts/contact.html
NLM Customer Service Form at Contact NLM

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