INCHEM Uses
What is INCHEM used for?
INCHEM (IPCS INCHEM) is a free website where you can look up peer-reviewed chemical safety information. It collects the publications of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) on chemical risks in the environment, in food and at work. People use it for hazard assessment, setting safety standards, workplace safety, poison treatment and managing chemicals safely. IPCS runs it together with WHO, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) and the IOMC (INCHEM home).
Approach: I read the official INCHEM home and "About" pages. Our datasets include the INCHEM International Chemical Safety Cards, CICADs and EHC monographs, so I can also pull specific documents for a substance.
What it is for
- INCHEM describes itself as a tool "for those concerned with chemical safety and the sound management of chemicals". It gives "quick and easy electronic access to thousands of searchable full-text documents on chemical risks" (About INCHEM).
- It was set up so countries could meet commitments under the UN's Agenda 21. You can search all of its collections at once or one at a time.
What it holds and what each part is used for (About INCHEM)
| Collection | Typical use |
|---|---|
| International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs), WHO and ILO | Short health and safety summaries for workers and others at the workplace |
| Concise International Chemical Assessment Documents (CICADs) | Summaries of a chemical's hazards and dose-response for human health and the environment, giving the key studies behind the conclusions |
| Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monographs | Full scientific evaluations used to develop safety standards |
| Health and Safety Guides (HSGs) | Plain-language risk information and practical advice for decision-makers |
| IARC Summaries and Evaluations | Expert evaluations of cancer risk from chemicals and exposures |
| JECFA monographs and evaluations | Toxicology of food additives, contaminants and veterinary drug residues, used by governments to set food safety standards |
| JMPR monographs and evaluations | Toxicology of pesticide residues, supporting international food safety standards |
| Poisons Information Monographs (PIMs) | Agreed information on diagnosing, treating and preventing poisoning, prepared by poison centres worldwide |
| UK Poison Information Documents (UKPID) | Poison-centre monographs on chemicals and medicines from the UK National Poisons Information Service |
| IPCS/EC Evaluation of Antidotes | Guidance on using antidotes for poisoning: how well they work, how to give them and when not to |
| Screening Information Data Sets (SIDS) | First assessments of high-production-volume chemicals |
| KemI-Riskline | Swedish and Nordic consensus reports on occupational exposure limits |
| Harmonization Project publications | WHO/IPCS methods and guidance for harmonising risk assessment worldwide |
For regulatory work, INCHEM is a good place to find internationally peer-reviewed data on a substance. Examples are ICSC hazard and first-aid data for workplace documents, and JECFA or JMPR evaluations for food and residue questions.
How do chemical safety cards differ from safety data sheets?
The main difference is legal status. A safety data sheet (SDS) is a document the law requires a supplier to provide for its own substance or mixture. An International Chemical Safety Card (ICSC) is a peer-reviewed reference sheet from ILO and WHO that "ha[s] no legal status and may not meet all requirements included in national legislation". The ILO says ICSCs should complement an SDS but cannot substitute for one (ILO information note on ICSCs).
Approach: I compared the INCHEM ICSC for benzene (ICSC 0015) with the SDS rules in the consolidated EU REACH Regulation (Article 31 and Annex II) and Canada's Hazardous Products Act (WHMIS). For the ILO's own account of what ICSCs are for, I used its official information note.
| ICSC | SDS (EU REACH example) | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | None. It is a voluntary international reference (ILO). | Required by law. "The supplier of a substance or a mixture shall provide the recipient… with a safety data sheet compiled in accordance with Annex II." This applies to hazardous substances and mixtures, PBT/vPvB substances and Candidate List substances [1]. In Canada, a supplier may not sell or import a workplace hazardous product with a false or misleading SDS [2]. |
| Who writes it | An international group of experts, on behalf of ILO and WHO [3]. Drafts are based on publicly available data and peer reviewed by the whole group (ILO). | The supplier. It must be prepared by a "competent person" who has had appropriate training [4]. |
| What it covers | A substance in general, not a particular commercial product. The benzene card lists name, synonyms, CAS, UN and EC numbers, but no company [3]. | A specific substance or mixture as supplied. Section 1 identifies the substance or mixture and the company; Section 3 gives the composition [1]. |
| Format | Fixed format, short enough to print on both sides of one sheet (ILO). Blocks include acute hazards, prevention, firefighting, first aid, spillage, storage, physical and chemical data, exposure limits and notes [3]. | 16 mandatory headings, from identification through to other information [1]. It "is not a fixed length document": the length depends on the hazard and the data available, and it "shall not contain blank subsections" [4]. |
| Audience and depth | Mainly workers and occupational safety and health staff. The ILO describes the SDS as possibly "technically very complex and too extensive for shop floor use", while ICSCs are "more concise and simple" (ILO). | Must let users protect health, safety and the environment. Employers must be able to use it to assess workplace risk under Directive 98/24/EC [4]. It requires detailed specifics, such as glove material, thickness and breakthrough time [5], and test data with species, units and duration [6]. |
| Link to registration and risk assessment | None. | Must be consistent with the REACH registration and chemical safety report. Exposure scenarios go in an annex [4]. Section 15 covers regulatory status, including REACH authorisations and restrictions [7]. |
| Classification | GHS classifications are added to new and updated cards (ILO). The benzene card gives hazards "According to UN GHS Criteria" plus an old EC R/S-phrase classification under "Additional information" [3]. | Must give the CLP classification of the product as supplied. It must not include statements that conflict with that classification, such as "harmless" [4]. |
| Updates | Revised periodically. The benzene card is dated November 2016 [3]. | Must be updated "without delay" when new hazard or risk-management information appears, or an authorisation or restriction is decided. The revised version goes free of charge to everyone supplied in the previous 12 months [8]. |
| Distribution and language | Free online. Written in English, then translated by national institutions (ILO). | Free of charge, on paper or electronically, no later than first supply [8]. Must be in an official language of the Member State where the product is placed on the market [1]. |
In practice, an ICSC is a good independent check on an SDS or a short summary for workers on the shop floor. It does not meet a supplier's SDS obligation and should not be sent out in place of one.
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