Compiled by:      Neil Flatter 
                  Lev A. Gorenstein  
                  Theodore Heise  
                  Mark Perks  
Mutilated by:     Bruce Hamilton

8.1  Where can I find Material Safety Data Sheets?

Manufacturers are required by OSHA to provide MSDSs for the chemicals they 
produce, but most include liability disclaimers.  For MSDSs obtained from 
online sources, the user must be sure the MSDS meets his/her needs.  As with 
most information obtained from the Internet, use at your own risk!. If you
don't know how to interpret the data, find an expert to explain the 
significance of the information presented. Because the number of WWW sites
with MSDS are changing all the time, it is often preferable to use a WWW
search engine to find the latest sources of data sheets.  

http://hazard.com/msds/
http://haz1.siri.org/ 
    The comprehensive Vermont SIRI location is an excellent first port of 
    call when searching for chemical safety information. ~180,000 MSDS
http://msds.pdc.cornell.edu/issearch/msdssrch.htm
    The Cornell site mirrors the Vermont SIRI site and also contains the
    US Department of Defence CD-ROM MSDS. ~325,000 MSDS  
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/
    The Dept. of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, maintains an up-to-date
    " Where to find MSDS on the Internet " site pointing towards over
    thirty useful locations.
http://chemfinder.camsoft.com/
    CambridgeSoft Corporation's Chemfinder free searching server will also
    locate safety information for chemicals, including ~60,000 MSDS.
http://www.fisherscientific.com/
    The Fisher Scientific Chemical Catalog is available online. In addition 
    to MSDSs, you can order chemicals.
http://ulisse.etoit.eudra.org/Ecdin/Ecdin.html
    Environmental Chemicals Data and Information Network in Italy provides 
    a searchable database with 120,000 MSDS.

8.2  Where can I find detailed safety & toxicity data?

http://hazard.com/msds/
http://haz1.siri.org/ 
    The comprehensive Vermont SIRI location is an excellent first port of 
    call when searching for chemical safety information. 
http://chemfinder.camsoft.com/
    CambridgeSoft Corporation's Chemfinder free searching server will
    also locate safety information on chemicals, including MSDS.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/atsdrhome.html
    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the
    Centers for Disease Control maintains a searchable database which 
    contains toxicological profiles of about 200 chemicals.

Note that many government departments now have made their databases 
available to both commercial database suppliers ( such as Knight Ridder )
and private citizens. Some are free, and some charge, it is worth contacting
government agencies like OSHA, NIOSH, EPA, NIH and asking about what is
available. Some databases ( like NIH library ) can be accessed via telnet, 
as also can Dialog ( once you have an account number ). eg
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/medline.html
     Medline, a medical database maintained by the NIH 
telnet://Dialog.com

8.3  Where can I find occupational exposure limits?

http://www.acgih.org/
    The most well-known list of occupational exposure limits is the annual
    list of TLVs and BEIs compiled by the ACGIH, who also offer a diverse
    range of reports and pointers to other sources of information.
http://law.house.gov/cfr.htm 
    Recent (but perhaps not most current, but it is being updated) site
    for the Code of Federal Regulations. Title 29 of the CFR (Labor) 
    section 1910.1000 lists OSHA's permissible exposure limits (PELs) 
    for air contaminants.

8.4  Where can I find hazard information for a chemical?

In general, the first contact should be the safety professional at your
institution, local poison centre or local fire department - as they will 
be trained to review and comprehend the information they have access to.
A WWW visit to the sites in sections 8.1 and 8.2 will also provide some
information, and point to other sources. The following site has pointers 
to several useful sources.
http://www.christie.ab.ca/safelist/
    Carolla Christie of Christie Communications maintains an excellent 
    list of environmental and occupational health and safety information 
    resources available on the Internet. Many of the useful organisation
    and institutional resources currently are only contactable via email. 

8.5  Where can I find laboratory safety guides?

http://www.christie.ab.ca/safelist/ 
    Carolla Christie of Christie Communications maintains an excellent 
    list of environmental and occupational health and safety information 
    resources available on the Internet.
http://www.sra.org/riskanal.htm            RISKANAL mailing list. 
    discusses environmental and occupational health and safety issues, 
    particularly those associated with college and university campuses, 
    although a wide range of subjects is encouraged.

8.6  Where can I find other safety information?

Many of the Chemistry Overview WWW sites in Section 7.2 also have safety
sections with extensive numbers of pointers to WWW sites. Some US 
Government departments ( OSHA, EPA, NIH ) have WWW sites with information,
which can be accessed directly, or via some of the sites in Section 7.12.
http://dchas.cehs.siu.edu/
    The ACS division of Chemical Health and Safety homepage.
http://www.setac.org/          
    The Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
http://www.aiha.org            
    The American Industrial Hygiene Association

The WWW site below has large numbers of pointers to other sites with 
extensive ranges of information on chemical, laboratory, and general 
safety issues. 
http://www.christie.ab.ca/safelist/
    Carolla Christie of Christie Communications maintains an excellent 
    list of safety information resources available on the Internet.
    The list is also posted to the SAFETY mailing list above.