Most of us are at least partly concerned with the types of chemicals found in household products we use on a daily basis and the potential health impacts associated with different types of exposure.

One problem we often encounter when researching both the chemicals in household products as well as the health risks associated with chemical exposure is accessing meaningful and accurate information.

It maybe easy to find information on the “Net” via a search engine like Google but the information identified is often at best …  questionable.

Answering the Quality Information Need: NLM/NIH ToxNet

Two previous blog posts addressed some of the information sources that can be used to identify the health risks or chemicals in household products (Household Products Database and MSDS sheets).

One note of caution: remember to seek out the chemical exposure concentrations associated with a given health effect when researching information. It is usually a key factor related to the nature of the effect.

The video tutorial below provides a basic introduction to the National Library of Medicine (NIH) ToxNet database web portal and how to quickly access both the Household Products Database (basic health risks of household products) and Hazardous Substances Data Bank (health risks of chemicals in products):

You will notice several other databases and information sources such as the environmental health and toxicology resources pointed out as the video closes.

Bottom line: There is a wealth of health and toxicological data available from the numerous databases accessible from the ToxNet portal and the information will prove to be as or more reliable than most sources identified via a general web search.