EPA Opens Databases On Toxicity, Exposure

Scientists and the public have greater access to chemical toxicity and exposure information thanks to two databases that EPA made public last week. One, called ToxCast, allows users to search and download data generated by 500 automated assays the agency has conducted on more than 300 chemicals, mainly pesticides (C&EN, Dec. 6, 2010, page 32). In 2012, EPA will add results on 700 more compounds garnered through these high-throughput tests. The second database, called ExpoCast, provides human exposure data from studies measuring amounts of various substances in food, drinking water, air, dust, indoor surfaces, and urine. “These databases provide the public access to chemical information, data, and results that we can use to make better-informed and timelier decisions about chemicals to better protect people’s health,” says Paul Anastas, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research & Development, which oversees the databases. They are available through the agency’s Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource found at actor.epa.gov.