A number of folks have posted queries here and to me personally
around on-line information sources on pesticides and toxic chemicals.
I'm writing to share some strategies and sources I use.
I use a two-fold strategy when searching for this information.
First, I find out all I can about the substance in question,
including synonyms, chemical structure, and mode of action from
information sources that provide. Then, I search my favorite
databases that focus on demonstrated and reported effects. By
starting out learning about the chemical itself, if I don't get a
hit on one thing, for instance, Furadan (a brand name), I can try a
generic name, carbofuran, or a chemical formula name.
Here are some of my first stops for getting basic information on
hazardous chemicals or pesticides:
CambridgeSoft ChemFinder
http://chemfinder.camsoft.com/
This is a more industry-targeted resource...but what I find useful is
that, for each hit, a list of links comes up to about 30 on-line
sources of info. Most of those sources have chemical info (molecular
structure and synonyms, boiling point, melting point, decomposition;
solubility, sorption, and other constants, etc.). Very few are
terribly useful for the person asking: what are the effects of
exposure in high or low doses?
Craig Harris shared the ExToxNet site address.
http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/ghindex.html
To search the US EPA Internet site:
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/search.html
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (US Dept of
Health and Human Services) site:
http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov:8080/#Search
Has links to their Hazardous Substances Database and more resources.
You can get manufacturers' Material Safety Data Sheets on-line,
mostly in .pdf (Acrobat) format, from Crop Data Management Systems,
Inc.'s, site:
http://www.cdms.net/manuf/manuf.asp
I understand that this site is only free for a short time, then will
revert to a for-pay service. This site is useful for getting MSDSs
on particular products. For example, there can be dozens of
different brand versions of a particular pesticide, each can be a
little different; this is a good place to explore that, or to target
information on a particular brand. (Or anyway what the manufacturers
share as non-proprietary.)
A good transition to the second stage of the search, and my
perennial first stop for on-line hazardous chemical info for
substances I already know a little about, is:
NJ Department of Health Hazardous Chemical Fact Sheets
http://www.alternatives.com/libs/envchemh.htm
This is under the auspices of the NJ DOH "Right to Know" program. The
fact sheets are written in a clear, open style, and take in not only
the chemical data (boiling point, solubility, etc.) but also acute
(one shot) and chronic (long term) health information, where they
have that.
Using Regi Thomas's query about Furadan/Carbofuran, here's the NJ DOH
fact sheet on that:
ftp://alternatives.com/library/envchemh/chemh163
I'll post a separate item on that.
Here's George Ware's (U-AZ Tucson) "Introduction to Pesticides":
http://www.ent.agri.umn.edu/academics/classes/ipm/chapters/ware.htm
It summarizes a little about different classes of pesticides and
their modes of action.
For information on reported exposures and effects, I go to Pesticide
Action Network North America's PESTIS searchable Gopher site:
http://www.igc.apc.org/panna/information/pestis.html
Here, hits bring you PANNA updates and reports, EPA statements, and
other kinds of information that PANNA has collected about pesticide
exposures in people and wildlife.
Another resource along these lines: to search Rachel's Environment
and Health Weekly, go to:
http://www.monitor.net/rachel/
And click on the FIND button. The Excite search engine does the
rest.
I have more sites, folks, but anyone can build a pretty good
information base from these.
My guess as a Communications History Junkie and Privatization
Watcher is that in not very long from now, such information will
evolve into being purely and solely proprietary; i.e., you'll have
to pay for it. This is why I long ago downloaded the NJ DOH fact
sheets to several different disk media.
Hope this helps those of you who asked.
peace
misha
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In the towers of steel, belief goes on and on
in this heartland, in this heartland soil. --U2
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