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eChemPortal: the Global Portal to Information on Chemical Substances

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eChemPortal

Public access to information on properties of chemicals:– Physical chemical properties

– Environmental fate and behaviour

– Ecotoxicity

– Toxicity

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eChemPortal

From one internet location free of charge:– Identify existing and relevant databases, review

documents and assessments and provide direct access to these data/reports

– Simultaneously query datasets stored in these participating databases by chemical identity and properties and provide direct links to the requested information - users can then easily locate additional information about the selected chemicals

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eChemPortal

Provide information about the source of the retrieved data, and provide direct access to the data or document collection

Provide description of the type of review the data have undergone

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Staged Implementation

First phase released during the second quarter of 2007:– Identify existing datasets by chemical identity,

review documents and assessments and provide direct access to these data/reports

Second phase to follow in 2008/2009:– Simultaneously query datasets stored in

participating databases by chemical identity and properties

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Background and Chronology of International Events

eChemPortal is a significant step forward in meeting long standing international commitments to ensuring the generation and public availability of hazard data on chemicals

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June 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment

and Development

In June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, UNCED, also known as the Earth Summit or the Rio Conference set the stage

Agenda 21 is a 300 page plan for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century

Chapter 19 addresses the Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals

Paragraph 4c covers “information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical risks…..”

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September 2002World Summit on

Sustainable Development

In September 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand, the WSSD provided a ten year review of Earth Summit progress

The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation Paragraph 23f encouraged the “development of coherent and integrated information on chemicals…..”

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October 2003Organisation for Economic

Co-operation and Development

At the 12th meeting of the Task Force on Existing Chemicals in October 2003 in Paris, France, OECD charged a Steering Group with developing and implementing a proposal for a globally accessible international repository on hazard data for existing chemicals

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November 2003Fourth Session of the International Forum on

Chemical Safety

In November 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand, the IFCS Forum IV adopted, among other considerations, a priority for action:– For all chemicals in commerce, appropriate information

detailing the inherent hazards should be made available to the public, and generated where needed

– Essential health, safety and environmental information should be accessible

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January 2004OECD Global Portal

Steering Group

Under the leadership of the European Commission and the United States

Comprising Canada, Japan, the OECD Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Chemicals and environmental NGOs (Environmental Defense)

Developed a series of proposals on the design and governance of the Portal

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February 2006Strategic Approach to International Chemicals

Management

In February, 2006 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) adopted SAICM

SAICM is a policy framework to international action on chemical hazards

The Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management is one of three core texts comprising SAICM

Paragraph 21. “Facilitate public access to appropriate information and knowledge of chemicals throughout their life cycle……”

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eChemPortal: the Global Portal to Information on Chemical Substances is offered as a contribution to the SAICM

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eChemPortal: Objectives

To make information on properties of existing chemicals publicly available and free of charge

To enable quick and efficient use of this information

To enable efficient exchange of this information

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eChemPortal: First Phase

Hosted by the OECD Secretariat on the OECD website

Search for information by CAS Registry Number, substance name or synonym in one or all participating databases

Each link directs the user either to the home page of the database or collection of reports or directly to the corresponding report or dataset

List of referenced chemicals is not limited to High Production Volume Chemicals

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Participating Databases

at start-up of the first phase

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European Chemical Substances Information System (ESIS)

Maintained by the European Commission ESIS is an IT system which provides information on

chemicals related to:– EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances)– ELINCS (European List of Notified Chemical Substances)– List of EU HPVs (High Production Volume chemicals) and LPVs

(Low Production Volume chemicals) including the EU Producers & Importers

– Classification and Labelling (Directive 67/548/EEC)– IUCLID chemical datasets for ca. 2,500 HPVs (data on toxicity,

ecotoxicity and classification and labelling)– EU Priority lists for risk assessment, Risk assessment process and

tracking system for the Existing Substances Regulation (ESR), (Council Regulation (EEC) 793/93) and Risk assessment reports

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High Production Volume Information System (HPVIS)

Maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

Released in Spring, 2006 Public access to technical health and environmental effects

information on chemicals submitted through the USEPA HPV Challenge Program

Users search a database for existing data summary information, test plans, and new data on HPV chemicals as they are developed

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Chemical Safety Information from Intergovernmental Organizations (INCHEM)

Maintained by the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS) in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Public access to thousands of searchable full-text documents on chemical risks and the sound management of chemicals

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Data that can be searched through INCHEM include:

Concise International Chemical Assessment Document (CICADS) Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monographs Health and Safety Guides (HSGs) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Summaries and

Evaluations International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) IPCS/CEC Evaluation of Antidotes Series Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) - Monographs and

evaluations Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) - Monographs and

evaluations Pesticide Data Sheets (PDSs) Poisons Information Monographs (PIMs) Screening Information Data Set (SIDS) for High Production Volume

Chemicals

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Chemical Risk Information Platform (CHRIP)

Maintained by National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), Japan

Information on Biodegradation and Bioconcentration, test conditions, conclusions

Chemicals assessed under the Chemical Substances Control Law (Japan)

Also access to other related information, e.g. phys-chem properties, aquatic toxicity, mammalian toxicity.

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OECD High Production Volume (HPV) Database

Maintained by the OECD Secretariat in collaboration with OECD member countries

Provides information on the status of all HPV chemicals within the process of investigation in the OECD HPV Chemicals Programme

Provides access to published OECD Initial Assessment Reports and Screening Information Data Sets (SIDS)

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eChemPortal: Second Phase (1)

The European Commission is currently conducted a feasibility study to identify the ideal hosting and maintenance option for the second phase of the Global Portal (e.g. at the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland)

The second phase of the portal will feature enhanced search and query options to retrieve and compile specific data from participating databases

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eChemPortal: Second Phase (2)

Central element around which Global Portal queries will be organized is the Global Portal Catalogue (GPC).

This GPC will be populated from notifications sent by the participating Databases (“push” concept).

These notifications will, for each new or updated relevant substance…– … contain “catalogue fields” (= queryable fields at the Global Portal;

details are currently discussed in the GP Steering Group)– … follow the OECD Harmonized Templates Format (an XML Schema)

No participation in the Global Portal without a firm commitment to send notifications (either ad hoc or in notification collections at certain intervals)

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eChemPortal: Second Phase (3)

Choice of technology used to (semi-)automatically extract GPC notifications from the local participating database remains with the participating DB

The Global Portal Steering group recommends“web services”

See next slide, in which all participating DBs have a web services “provider agent” installed, which sends GPC notifications automatically when relevant updates occur locally…

(But participants are free to submit with other technology or manually (not recommended))

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eChemPortal: Second Phase (4)

Once the catalogue has reached a critical mass of relevant entries, the Global Portal (second phase) goes live.

See next slide for a typical Global Portal Query:1. From the Internet, a query arrives2. The Global Portal processes the query by first

running it against the GPC3. The Query Result is presented to the user, who then

decided whether to drill down to a specific query or not. This triggers a link to the local provider DB (and the local participating DB user interface is invoked)

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Roles and Responsibilities of Participating Databases

Descriptions of the review the data have undergone (e.g., peer review by governmental authorities, other peer review, no peer review) will be provided by the participating databases

Participating databases will be responsible for maintaining and updating links to information and responding to user inquiries and feedback

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How to Participate

Contact the OECD Secretariat for further information

Proposals for linking new sources of data to eChemPortal can be made by any stakeholder represented at the OECD Joint Meeting of the Chemicals Committee and the Working Party on Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotechnology

Decisions on proposed extensions will be taken by the OECD Task Force on Existing Chemicals

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Outreach Campaign

eChemPortal offers a unique opportunity to provide the public with access to information from one internet location

Need to identify new users and target audiences to acquaint them with this website

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Online Survey

Users can provide insight on how the information available through the site may be useful to them

Solicits users for input on how to design the portal to better meet their needs

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eChemPortal

Join the databases already participating in this global initiative to ensure convenient public access to critical health and safety information on chemicals in commerce