eChemPortal: the Global Portal to Information on Chemical Substances

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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 recommendsweb
  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
• From the Internet, a query arrives
• The Global Portal processes the query by first
  running it against the GPC
• 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