NTC » TOXNET and Beyond

Documerica

Rebecca Brown — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:34:33 +0000

One year after the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, the agency started a photo project called Documerica that ran from 1971 to 1977. The EPA hired freelance photographers to take pictures relating to environmental problems, EPA activities, and everyday life in the 1970s to create a baseline.

Over 15,000 images can be viewed online and downloaded without any copyright restrictions (taxpayers own the photos).

Here is the link to the EPA Documerica site:

http://goo.gl/0UC6o

Rachel Carson Contest 2013

Rebecca Brown — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:58:35 +0000

Rachel Carson is considered to be the mother of the modern day environmental movement going back to the 1960s, which lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970. The EPA is the keeper of much of the data found in TOXNET databases such as IRIS, TRI and TOXMAP. For the past 7 years or so, the EPA has sponsored a contest in Carson’s honor; the Sense of Wonder Contest.

Visit the EPA’s website to read about the contest:

http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm

Toxic Release Inventory Communities Webinar Available Online

Rebecca Brown — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:15:56 +0000

On November 8, 2012, the EPA and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) presented a webinar for community grassroots groups and others who serve as community leaders about how to access and use EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory data.

You may now view the video recording of this webinar online.

You can access this archive of the 2012 TRI Fall Webinar, “Introduction to the Toxics Release Inventory for Communities”, by browsing to the following address: http://www.chemicalright2know.org/2012-webinars/tri-communities-webinar/

Redesigned Home Page for Division of Specialized Information Services

Rebecca Brown — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:39:39 +0000

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) released a refreshed home page on Monday, January 7, 2013. The new design includes a carousel highlighting SIS resources. All functions will remain the same.

SIS produces information resources on a range of topics covering toxicology, environmental health, HIV/AIDS, drug and consumer product information, and disaster/emergency preparedness and response. View the new home page at: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov

NLM Resources Especially for Toxicologists

Rebecca Brown — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:31:28 +0000

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Specialized Information Services(SIS) has released “Especially for Toxicologists,” (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/especiallytoxicologists.html) a guide to NLM resources on environmental health, toxicology, and chemical information for toxicologists.

A new Enviro-Health Links page, “Laboratory Safety” (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/labsafety.html) offers links to information for clinical, academic and school laboratories, including resources for handling chemical, biological and nanotechnology safely. Also included are links to regulations and policy, hazard analysis, MSDS, waste management, and pre-formulated TOXNET and PubMed searches.

Discovering the Connection: Your Environment, Your Health

Rebecca Brown — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:11:12 +0000

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has released “Discovering the Connection: Your Environment, Your Health,” an after school science club curriculum for middle school students (http://www.toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/teachers6.php).

The curriculum combines research on the Tox Town Web site (toxtown.nlm.nih.gov) with hands-on experiments and communication and with social action activities. The objective is to introduce middle school students to environmental health issues in their everyday life, emphasizing the relevance of science to informed citizenship.

The curriculum was developed as a collaboration between the NLM, the University of Maryland College of Education, and an inter-disciplinary group of middle school teachers. It is based on National Science Education Standards and is grounded in problem-based learning approach that promotes in-depth understanding and critical thinking.

The curriculum contains six units; each introduces one environmental health topic and include three to four 50-60 minute lessons. The units include: 1) Water Quality, 2) Air Quality, 3) Chemicals in Your Home, 4) Food Safety, 5) Runoff, Impervious Surfaces, and Smart Development, and 6) The Great Debate: Bottled Water vs. Tap Water in Our School.

The curriculum lessons can also be used to support the existing middle school science curriculum, as well as to reinforce the science/society connection in the social science or language arts classroom.

Tox Town Releases a New Drought Location Page

Rebecca Brown — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:26:30 +0000

Did you experience drought conditions where you live this summer? Has your health been affected because of the drought? Do you wonder if droughts are related to climate change? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should visit Tox Town’s new Drought location page. Information is provided on why drought is a concern, how it is related to climate change, and possible health affects related to drought.

http://www.toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/locations.php?id=173

ALTBIB Portal Updated

Rebecca Brown — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:03:48 +0000

The National Library of Medicine ALTBIB portal provides access to PubMed® and MEDLINE® citations relevant to alternatives to the use of live vertebrates in biomedical research and testing.

This collection provides citations from published articles, books, book chapters, and technical reports published from 1980 to 2000. The bibliography features citations concerning methods, tests, assays, and procedures that may prove useful in establishing alternatives to the use of intact vertebrates. Many citations provide access to free full text.

Visit the site at: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/altbib.html

NLM Drug Information Portal for Mobile Sites

Sharon Dennis — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:43:05 +0000

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Drug Information Portal is now available for mobile devices. http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov/m.drugportal

This mobile optimized web site covers over 32,000 drugs and provides descriptions, drug names, pharmaceutical categories, and structural diagrams. Each record also features information links to 19 other resources including NLM PubMed, NLM LactMed, and Drugs@FDA. The mobile version of a resource is used when available.

Smart Phones accessing the main Drug Portal site will be taken the mobile site.

The Drug Information Portal (http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov) is a free Web resource from the NLM that provides an informative, user friendly entry-way to current drug information for over 32,000 drugs. Links to sources span the breadth of the NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) <http://www.nih.gov>, and other government agencies. Current information regarding consumer health, clinical trials, AIDS-related drug information, MeSH pharmacological actions, PubMed biomedical literature, and physical properties and structure is easily retrieved by searching on a drug name. A varied selection of focused topics in medicine and drug-related information is also available from displayed subject headings.

Comments and suggestions are welcome at tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov.

Haz-Map: Redesigned Web and Mobile Versions

Sharon Dennis — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:24:29 +0000

NLM has released redesigned Web and mobile versions of Haz-Map. The new design adapts to Web browsers on desktop computers, laptops, and tablets, as well as mobile browsers on smart phones, such as iPhones, Android and Blackberry phones.

Haz-Map is an occupational health database designed for health and safety professionals and for consumers seeking information about the health effects of exposure to chemicals and biologicals at work. Haz-Map links jobs and hazardous tasks with occupational diseases and their symptoms. It currently covers over 5,997 chemical and biological agents and 235 occupational diseases. Haz-Map is part of the TOXNET® suite of databases; to learn more about TOXNET, see our list of upcoming “TOXNET and Beyond” classes.

For more information see the Haz-Map Fact Sheet.