HSLS Update

What's Under Your Kitchen Sink? New Household Products Database Provides Answers

The Household Products Database <householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov>, a new resource available free of charge from the National Library of Medicine, enables users to find out what’s in the products under the kitchen sink, in the garage and bathroom, etc., as well as the potential health effects of these items.

The database links over 4,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), which are designed to provide workers and emergency personnel with the proper procedures for handling a particular substance. The Household Products Database allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients, and to answer questions like these:

• What chemicals are contained in specific brands and in what percentage?
• Which products contain specified chemicals?
• Who manufactures a specific brand and how can the manufacturer be contacted?
• What are the potential health effects (acute and chronic) of the chemical ingredients in a specific brand?
• What other information is available about such chemicals in the toxicology-related databases of the National Library of Medicine?

Users can browse a product category, such as Pesticides or Personal Care, by alphabetical listing or by brand name. Products can also be searched by type or by manufacturer. Information on chemicals can be obtained by browsing an alphabetical listing of product ingredients, chemical names, or by searching a chemical’s unique identifier (Chemical Abstracts Registry Number). The Material Safety Data Sheet for a product can be searched for health effects via text words. For more information, users can launch a TOXNET <toxnet.nlm.nih.gov> search for a product or ingredient directly from the product’s page. TOXNET is a cluster of additional NLM databases covering toxicology resources, environmental health, and hazardous chemicals topics.

For example, a homeowner interested in learning about what algaecide she might use in the swimming pool could select the “Landscape/Yard/Swimming Pool” category in Household Products and “algaecide” as the type. She could then choose several brands to explore. The record for each product lists ingredients from the MSDS/label, as well as health effects and toxicity information.

NLM plans to expand the products covered in the Household Products Database and to routinely update product information, including the MSDS, for the product brands currently in the database.

--Colette Hochstein, DMD, MLS, Division of Specialized Information Services National Library of Medicine