The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is making it easier to find data about chemicals. EPA
is releasing two databases—the Toxicity Forecaster database (ToxCastDB) and a
database of chemical exposure studies (ExpoCastDB)—that scientists and the
public can use to access chemical toxicity and exposure data.
“Chemical safety is a major
priority of EPA and its research,” said Dr. Paul Anastas, assistant
administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These databases
provide the public access to chemical information, data and results that we can
use to make better-informed and timelier decisions about chemicals to better
protect people’s health.”
ToxCastDB users can search
and download data from over 500 rapid chemical tests conducted on more than 300
environmental chemicals. ToxCast uses advanced scientific tools to predict the
potential toxicity of chemicals and to provide a cost-effective approach to
prioritizing which chemicals of the thousands in use require further testing.
ToxCast is currently screening 700 additional chemicals, and the data will be
available in 2012.
ExpoCastDB consolidates
human exposure data from studies that have collected chemical measurements from
homes and child care centers. Data include the amounts of chemicals found in
food, drinking water, air, dust, indoor surfaces, and urine. ExpoCastDB users
can obtain summary statistics of exposure data and download datasets. EPA will
continue to add internal and external chemical exposure data and advanced user
interface features to ExpoCastDB.
The new databases link
together two important pieces of chemical research—exposure and toxicity data—both
of which are required when considering potential risks posed by chemicals. The
databases are connected through EPA’s Aggregated Computational Toxicology
Resource (ACToR), an online data warehouse that collects data on over 500,000
chemicals from over 500 public sources.
Users can now access 30
years worth of animal chemical toxicity studies that were previously only found
in paper documents, data from rapid chemical testing, and various chemical
exposure measurements through one online resource. The ability to link and
compare these different types of data better informs EPA’s decisions about
chemical safety.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov
