Web Changes and Database Updates

December 14, 2019

In a few weeks, the Haz-Map database on the web will be moved to haz-map.com. Improvements include adding chemical structures, adding links between agent fields and the glossary, adding new agent and disease fields, alphabetizing chemical lists on base names of chemicals (without prefixes), and improvements in the user interface for both the computer and mobile devices. About 200 of over 10,000 chemical structures in the Haz-Map database could not be imported into the web-based system. These will be added in the next couple weeks.

April 22, 2019

All of the links to International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) are broken because the server has been moved to https://www.ilo.org/dyn/icsc/showcard.home. All the links have been fixed in Haz-Map, but the update is not scheduled to be published until after the end of this year. In the meantime, use the URL shown above to find ICSC profiles.

April 1, 2019

1. I am reviewing the first 1250 agents added to Haz-Map. These include all chemicals added from the NIOSH Pocket Guide and most of the chemicals with TLVs by ACGIH. I am checking for typos and errors in hyperlinks, IARC classifications, TLVs, IDLHs, vapor pressures, and disease links.
2. I am obtaining the books from ACGIH (including the 2019 Supplement to the 7th Edition Documentation of the TLVs and BEIs) in order to do the annual update of Haz-Map based on new TLVs and newly revised monographs of agents.
3. My plan is to send the next update to NLM with all of the above changes in November of this year.
4. In February, I was invited by Bert Hakkinen at NLM to make a presentation to his graduate students in the "FAES@NIH" public health program. He asked me to talk about my background and what led to Haz-Map. The presentation was made to ten students using WebEx technology. You can see an outline of the talk here.
5. A 2008 document "Criteria for Occupational Disease-Agent Relationships in the SEM and Haz-Map Databases" was recently revised. The following paragraph was added:
6. About 10,000 chemicals from the SEM database were added to Haz-Map between 2007 and 2015. See this webpage showing how many and when they were published: https://www.haz-map.com/groups.htm. Since 2015, all Haz-Map work has been focused on updating, not adding new chemicals. How Frequently Is Haz-Map Updated? For an answer to this question, see https://www.haz-map.com/updated.htm. What Are the Most Important Sources for Updating the Database? For an answer to this question, see https://www.haz-map.com/sources2.htm.

February 27, 2019

See new page on my background and what led to Haz-Map.

November 6, 2018

Added new page on Welding, Brazing, and Soldering.

October 25, 2018

NLM published the updated version of Haz-Map today.

October 4, 2018

The next update is being sent to NLM today. This will include the new IARC classifications, the 2015-2018 journal review, and the changes listed below for June 10 and May 23. Some of the details:

1. "Radiation, solar" changed to "Radiation, solar and ultraviolet";
2. Welding fumes linked to Lung cancer;
3. Polychlorinated biphenyls linked to Melanoma; See "Polychlorinated biphenyls in Haz-Map" to see specific agents indirectly linked with the phrase, "See Polychlorinated biphenyls and linked disease."
4. Deleted links between Benzo(a)pyrene and Bladder cancer, Lung cancer, and Skin cancer;
5. Fluoro-edenite added as new agent: Group 1 but not linked to occupational mesothelioma;
6. Carbon nanotubes added as new agent--no linked diseases;
7. Acheson process, occupational exposure added as new agent; Linked to Lung cancer;
8. Vinyl chloride linked to Liver cancer; Already linked to Angiosarcoma of the liver;
9. Indium tin oxide, a new agent, linked to Pneumoconioses, other;
10. 63 links to journal articles were added as a result of the review of all journal articles published between 2015 and 2018. 199 full-text articles were printed for the review. See "September 16, 2015" below for a list of the seven journals. The only new agent-disease link resulting from the journal review was between "Carob bean gum" and occupational asthma.

September 9, 2018

Haz-Map is now aligned with the latest monographs from IARC. See IARC Changes in 2018. All of these changes will be published at NLM Haz-Map in the next few months. 

July 14, 2018

See "Occupational exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of cutaneous melanoma: a meta-analysis." published in January 2018. “These results do not support the hypothesis of an association between PCB exposure and the risk of MM [malignant melanoma]. . . . in our meta-analysis, the summary risk estimates for MM are close to one in both general-population studies and occupational cohorts.” According to IARC, polychlorinated biphenyls are known human carcinogens (Group 1) causing increased melanoma in exposed workers. [Monograph 107] See this page for questions about the IARC classification.

June 10, 2018

The next update will also include revisions from the 2016 edition of Emergency Response Guidebook and Poisoning & Drug Overdose, 7th Edition. See the Glossary for new definitions of Water Reactive Material, TIH, and Explosive Polymerization.

May 23, 2018

1. The update will be sent to NLM next week and published later this year. The update will include the deletion of the link between ethylene oxide and leukemia (See here for explanation.), the deletion of MDS as a synonym of leukemia, and the additional text to the Comments sections of 1,3-Butadiene, Benzene, and Formaldehyde supporting the links to the specific types of leukemia for 1,3-Butadiene (CML and CLL), Benzene (AML), and Formaldehyde (AML and CML). The links to the specific types of leukemia are based on recent IARC monographs. Regarding formaldehyde, “The Working Group was not in full agreement on the evaluation of formaldehyde causing leukaemias in humans, with a small majority viewing the evidence as sufficient of carcinogenicity and the minority viewing the evidence as limited.” [IARC Monograph Volume 100F (2012): Formaldehyde] “Some studies have linked heavy workplace exposure to formaldehyde with AML risk, but this link has not been seen in some other studies." No chemicals are causally linked to chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). [www.cancer.org] “We find no clear evidence of an excess risk of leukemia or myeloid leukemia in any large, well-conducted study.” [PMID 22983399] “Our reanalysis of the data from the NCI cohort study of workers in the formaldehyde industries provides no support for the hypothesis that formaldehyde causes AML, the LHM [lymphohematopoietic malignancy] of greatest prior concern.” [PMID 26147546]

2. The American Cancer Society says, “Acute myeloid leukemia is also called acute myelocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, or sometimes just AML.”[https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia.html]

3. The new synonyms of Leukemia in Haz-Map to be published are: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML, Acute myelogenous leukemia, Acute myelocytic leukemia, Acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), AML with myelodysplasia-related changes, Acute erythroid leukemia); Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML); Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); 

4. Also see the WHO classification of AML at https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia/detection-diagnosis-staging/how-classified.html Other synonyms shown here are: AML with myelodysplasia-related changes; Acute monocytic leukemia; and Acute erythroid leukemia.

5. The update sent to NLM next week will also include 2018 ACGIH revisions. There are 21 new monographs on chemicals or groups of chemicals published in the “2018 Supplement to the 7th Edition: Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices.” That document also includes a monograph on a new BEI for ”Cholinesterase Inhibiting Pesticides.” One of the new monographs is on “Chromium and Inorganic Compounds.” There are 81 chromium compounds in Haz-Map. Four were deleted because of insufficient information. Chromium(VI) compounds have new TLVs and STELs. Water-soluble compounds are now given a “Skin” designation. Chromium(III) compounds have new TLVs. Water-soluble compounds are marked as RSEN and DSEN, meaning that they may cause asthma and allergic contact dermatitis. Five new agents will be added to Haz-Map: Fludioxonil; Chromium(III) acetate monohydrate; Sodium chromite, chromium(III); Chromium hydroxide sulfate, chromium(III); and Chromium(III) picolinate.

January 13, 2018

A list of the causes of occupational asthma, originally developed by Chan-Yeung and Malo, is available at http://www.csst.qc.ca/en/prevention/reptox/occupational-asthma/Pages/occupational-asthma.aspx. This list, last revised in January 2017, was used to update the causes of occupational asthma in Haz-Map. Two new agents, Ranitidine and Tafenoquine, were added. Liposcelis decolor was added to "Insects." Triticale was added to "Grain dust." Argan was added to "Allergens, processing plant extracts." Other new agents were added to the corresponding Agents and Job Tasks. The Job Tasks were: Generate plant bioaerosols processing or packaging food products (melon plant); Generate bioaerosols of animal-derived proteins (Nematode); Generate plant-derived bioaerosols (Miracle tree seeds); and Generate insect-derived bioaerosols (Royal jelly); The job task Generate plant-derived bioaerosols was linked to the job Extruding, Forming, Pressing & Compacting Machine Operators. The update will be published to the NLM website later this year.

October 31, 2017

Haz-Map Help summarizes what you need to know to search, browse, and query the database.

September 18, 2017

How to Use Haz-Map: this NLM webinar is scheduled for October 24, 2017. The slides that will be used are here: NLM_Webinar.pdf.

August 31, 2017

1. The updated Haz-Map file was sent to NLM on August 10. The updates include the annual changes published by ACGIH: 

   a.  2017 TLVs and BEIs;

   b.  2017 Supplement to the 7th Edition Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices; and

   c.  2017 Guide to Occupation Exposure Values. 

2. The first publication contains updates on TLVs and BEIs including "Notice of Intended Changes." The second publication reviews 21 chemicals (18 for TLVs and 3 for BEIs). The third publication lists about 2000 chemicals with current occupational exposure values from ACGIH, DFG MAKs and AIHA WEELs. All of these chemicals were reviewed, and any updates were added to the Haz-Map file.
3. All infectious diseases in Haz-Map were updated based on CDC Yellow Book 2018 and ABX Guide, which is continuously updated at https://www.hopkinsguides.com.
4. The 105 infectious diseases in Haz-Map are now linked to agents, e.g., Hepatitis C is linked to Hepatitis C virus.
5. All hyperlinks in Haz-Map to other websites were checked and corrected.

May 30, 2017

See IARC Changes in 2017. These changes were published in Haz-Map on May 24. NLM will host a webinar on how to use Haz-Map. The annual review of ACGIH publications was completed, and these changes will be published with the next update. For a description of the ACGIH publications, see this page.

March 6, 2017

See Heavy Metals and Hair Testing.

January 25, 2017

See Correlation vs Causation and the diagram "4 Explanations for a Correlation."

September 12, 2016

See the new page on "Does Silica Cause Kidney Disease?"

January 25, 2016

Last week, NLM published the 20 name changes shown below. Also, the content changes based on the review of  occupational medicine journals was published. Live hyperlinks to PubMed abstracts were added, as you can see by looking at the Comments fields for agents and diseases, e.g., "Beryllium" and "Silicosis, complicated."

November 17, 2015

The following changes were made to the names of 20 metals to improve the ease of finding these main metal records. These changes will be published soon.

September 30, 2015

Approximately 100 content changes were made to Haz-Map based on the review of selected occupational medicine journals. References to the articles were made by either direct hyperlinks or indirect links in the format of [PMID #######]. 

September 16, 2015

In September, I will complete a review of selected occupational medicine journals (Am J Ind Med, Chest, Int Arch Occup Environ Health, J Occup Environ Hyg, J Occup Environ Med, Occup Environ Med, Scand J Work Environ Health) for the time period January 2011 through August 2015. Click a journal title to see the list of articles with the most recent first. Method: (1) Look at every article title for each of the seven journals; (2) For articles selected from the seven journals, print out the abstracts; (3) For selected abstracts, print out the full text and read. The final count was a total of 297 printed, full-text articles. Selected articles will be added to Haz-Map as hyperlinks or in text fields referenced in the format [PMID 15669035]. The biggest categories (number of journal articles) were: Cancer (29), Cardiovascular Diseases (24), Occupational Asthma (33), and Respiratory Diseases (25). Other categories were: Agriculture/Endotoxins (11), Asbestos/Erionite (9), Benzene (2), Beryllium (8), Coal Workers (7), COPD (6), Fungi (4), Infectious Diseases (9), Jobs/Industries (4), Metals (15), Metalworking Fluids (6), Nanoparticles (11), Neurodegenerative Diseases (3), Other (31), Other Chemicals (7), Pesticides (5), Particulate Matter (7), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (4), Pulmonary Function Tests (3), Reproductive (8), Shift Work (9), Silica (9), Skin (5), and Welding (3).

September 10, 2015

Haz-Map was highlighted in the September 2015 edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The article appeared in the "Occupational Medicine Forum" section of the journal and was entitled, "What Online Toxicology Resources Are Available at No Cost From the (US) National Library of Medicine to Assist the Practicing OEM Physician?"

August 24, 2015

The Nine and Zero groups were published by NLM on August 11. The Dash group (531 agents) is the last group; it was sent to NLM today. See this page for the number of chemicals published since 2007. When published, the Dash group will include updates based on the following revised sources: 20th edition of Control of Communicable Diseases Manual (CCDM); 2015 Supplement to the 7th Edition Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices (ACGIH); Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 5th Edition (LaDou); Hayes' Principles and Methods of Toxicology, 6th Edition (Hayes); Kanerva's Occupational Dermatology, 2nd Edition (Kanerva); Handbook on the Toxicology of Metals, 4th Edition (Nordberg); and Chemical Safety Handbook: For the Semiconductor, Electronics, and Photovoltaic Industries, 4th Edition (CSH).

May 2, 2015

Added Frequently Asked Questions with 18 linked pages.

March 18, 2015

Follow this link to see the 3-page article by International Innovation with the title "Public health without borders." The story is about the IDdx and Haz-Map databases. International Innovation is a leading scientific dissemination service.

March 15, 2015

Added a new page, "Arc Welding, Manganese, and Manganism" and revised "Parkinson Disease: No Established Occupational Causes." The Eight group was published by NLM on February 7, 2015. The total number of agents published is now 10,641.

February 12, 2015

Added new page: Eczema: Is It Occupational?

January 19, 2015

Added new page, "Skin Cancer, Melanoma, and Exposure to Ultraviolet Light."

November 23, 2014

Revised first two pages "What Is It?" and "Database Overview."

August 27, 2014

NLM has published the next group, the 5 group of 497 agents. Click here to open a Word document containing a list of 5 group chemicals sorted by category. The total chemical and biological agents in Haz-Map now published by NLM is 10,133.

May 9, 2014

Click here to open a Word document listing the 281 agent categories in Haz-Map sorted by the 12 major categories. See How Many Chemicals Are There in the World? on the Haz-Map blog.

May 7, 2014

NLM has published the next group, the T group of 468 agents. Click here to open a Word document containing a list of T group chemicals sorted by category.

February 5, 2014

NLM is ready to publish the next group, the R group of 481 agents. This group contains the occupational asthma update as described in the note below for June 26. Click here to open a Word document containing a list of R group chemicals sorted by category.. 

January 7, 2014

The last file published by NLM in November was the K group of 452 agents. Three new fields were published with the K group: ACGIH Carcinogen, NTP Carcinogen, and Dangerous When Wet. To open a Word document containing a list of those agents sorted by category, click here. Profiles for the R group (481) and T group (468) have already been developed and will be published soon. The goal is to develop and publish the remaining profiles (2782) over the next 18 months to reach a total of over 12,000 chemical and biological agents in the Haz-Map database.

December 3, 2013

Added new page on "Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde and Leukemia."

November 21, 2013

Another 452 agents from the SEM database was recently published by NLM, bringing the total to 8689. Added new page on "Trichloroethylene and Occupational Kidney Cancer."

June 27, 2013

See this page for Apply Surface Coatings. See this page for Removing Coatings. See "Diseases Linked to Hazardous Job Tasks in a "Coatings" Category, Sorted by Disease." See "Hazardous Job Tasks Linked to Occupational Asthma Sorted by Job-Task Category."

June 26, 2013

Updated references to latest edition of Asthma in the Workplace. "Agents Causing Occupational Asthma with Key References" was published in the Appendix. It is now published online at http://www.asthme.csst.qc.ca/info_med/index.html. See the first "English List" updated September 2012. Twenty-three new agents causing OA and fifteen new hazardous job tasks linked to jobs and industries were added to Haz-Map. These changes will be published on the NLM website later this year.

June 21, 2013

Completely revised the slides with the title, "Exposure Assessment: What Is the Dose and What Can the Dose Do?"

May 24, 2013

Added "How Many Chemicals Are There in the World?" to Haz-Map Blog.

May 16, 2013

Added "Using Two Screens and the Tools in Microsoft Access to Study Chemicals."

May 1, 2013

Added Parkinson Disease: No Established Occupational Causes.

April 12, 2013

The NLM has updated Haz-Map with 413 new chemical profiles added. The total count is now 7852. About 2400 chemicals from HSDB were added to Haz-Map in 2010. Since then, another 2000+ chemicals from the SEM database (www.sem.dol.gov) have been added. The SEM database contains over 15,000 chemicals/trade names based on records of chemicals used at U.S. federal facilities for nuclear weapons research and development during the Cold War. Many of these chemical are rarely used, and information is scarce. Whenever possible, these chemicals are compared to more well-known chemicals with similar structures. The SEM database also includes many common chemicals of biological origin that were not originally in Haz-Map. It was decided to add rather than ignore these biological agents (monosaccharides, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, etc.) because they demonstrate that all chemicals are toxic at sufficient dose, and their structures can be compared to other chemicals already in the database. Haz-Map does not include drugs unless they are involved in important occupational exposures. Generally, it does not include alloys or commercial mixtures.

April 5, 2013

Added IOM Report. This is my response, point by point, to the 81 errors published by a committee of the Institute of Medicine with the title, "Eighty-One Errors Made by the IOM Committee in Its Report."

March 22, 2013

Added Haz-Map Blog.

January 10, 2013

Updated Main Databases Used in Haz-Map.

January 7, 2013

Please see DiseasesbyCat.doc. For most of the diseases in the list (not highlighted), it is obvious that they are established and preventable occupational diseases. Also see the slide presentation "Haz-Map: A Project to Map Occupational Toxicology Information into a Relational Database." Slide #16 is "NIOSH Sentinel Health Events (Occupational)." Slide #34 is "Like Editing a Textbook." Slide #35 is "Haz-Map Review Environment Since 2000 (NLM) and 2006 (DOL).

December 19, 2012

The total count of agents published on the NLM website is now 7438. This update includes 449 new chemical profiles. Haz-Map now includes all of the 2012 IARC changes--links between chemicals and occupational cancers have been revised. Glycol ethers are now classified in one of three categories: E Series, P Series, or Glymes. A CLASS called CARBIDES was added. There are now 48 classes. (You can find them by searching for "classes.") All new chemicals were checked for any information in 2012 Guide to Occupational Exposure Values published by ACGIH.

July 19, 2012

For some examples of links to new information in Haz-Map, see the following chemicals in the B group, which were added with the most recent update: 2-Aminothiophenol, 2,3-Pentanedione, 2,7-Dinitrofluorene, 2-Chlorobenzyl chloride, 1-Nonadecanol, Mecoprop dimethylamine salt, and Solvent naphtha (petroleum), heavy aliphatic. 1,3-Diphenoxybenzene is an example of a chemical for which no information other than the MSDS is available, but the user is referred to a related structure Phenyl ether, vapor.

June 30, 2012

Updated references to the latest editions of Merck Manual, CDC Travel, ABX Guide, and 5MCC-2013. Added two occupational infections: Blastomycosis and Streptococcal suis infection. Updated hyperlinks on these two pages: Occupational Infections and Skin Infections.

May 31, 2012

Since last October, two more groups of chemicals have been published: 174 chemicals in the Q & N groups and 493 chemicals in the B group. The B group was published last week along with the new Haz-Map interface that improves accessibility for smartphones. See http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/. New diseases that have been added include noise-induced hearing loss, three new diseases in the category "Reproduction and Development," and six new diseases in the category "More Research Needed." See the updated page on occupational cancer. Many changes were added to the database based on documents published by IARC in 2012. These changes will be included in the E group (500 new chemicals) and published sometime in the next two to three months on the NLM website.

October 7, 2011

Haz-Map on the NLM website at hazmap.nlm.nih.gov was updated this week with 1159 additional chemicals. Haz-Map now contains all of the chemicals in HSDB thought to be of significance for occupational toxicology, i.e., excluding some drugs and some biological chemicals. There are now three farming processes instead of two and the two textile processes were renamed. Click the "More Searches" tab, click "Alphabetically" under Processes, and then click "List All" to see the new processes.

September 27, 2011

Haz-Map is now published on ExPub. See www.expub.com. Some new features of this version are the inclusion of carcinogen classifications from NTP and ACGIH, links to ERG 2008 Guides, and hyperlinked PubMed references.

September 24, 2011

I made a presentation on "Exposure Assessment" at the Northwest Association of Occupational & Environmental Medicine Annual Scientific and Clinical Education Conference in Cle Elum, Washington.

May 16, 2011

Added first paragraph to Cancer page and added a new page, Databases Used in Haz-Map.

May 6, 2011

I will be presenting a poster on "Haz-Map: A Project to Map Occupational Toxicology Information into a Relational Database" at MEDICHEM 2011 on June 2-5 in Heidelberg, Germany. Here is the poster in pdf format (one page).

April 30, 2011

2364 chemicals were added to Haz-Map in 2010. About one half of these were published on the NLM website yesterday. The remaining chemicals will be published later this year to bring the total count up to 5824 chemical and biological agents, including all in HSDB deemed to be of occupational significance. 

Please see some of the pages that have been added in the last couple of years: Fact Sheet, NLM Help, Animal Data, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Benzene & AML, TCDD & Cancer. The Glossary and Bibliography are up to date on this website. The Fact Sheet has links to Word documents showing one-page summaries of all agent categories and all disease categories.

September 14, 2009

The latest update was published at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/ with 156 new chemicals.

June 29, 2009

The latest update was published at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/ with 418 new chemicals. Haz-Map now has WEEL values from AIHA for 111 chemicals. Agent-Disease links for toxic pneumonitis were changed according to Section 5.

March 25, 2009

See Webinar Lessons Learned.

February 17, 2009

Revised Occupational Cancer. 

February 3, 2009

Added new background page on Toxic Pneumonitis. The chemicals causing the adverse effect "Pneumonitis" and the occupational disease "Pneumonitis, toxic" were reviewed. For details, see Section 5 on the Agent-Disease Links page.

January 27, 2009

ACOEM is sponsoring a Haz-Map webinar on March 25, 2009 at noon EST. You can register at http://www.acoem.org/ToxicologyWebinar.aspx. 

See a slide presentation of Haz-Map at www.slideshare.net. Search for "Haz-Map" to find the slides.

January 15, 2009

The latest update was published at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/ with 377 new chemicals. The major categories and subcategories of Agents have been revised. The main change is the division of “Other Chemicals” into three major categories: Other Classes, Other Uses, and Dyes. Instead of nine major categories, there are now twelve major categories. Examples of subcategories are Other Classes: Aldehydes, Bases, Halowaxes, and Organic Acids;

Other Uses: Animal Feed Additives, Photography, and Waste Anesthetic Gases; 

Dyes: Anthraquinone, Azo, and Indicator Dyes. 

To see all categories, click By Types of Agents at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/.

September 28, 2008

Added new page on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

September 26, 2008

The latest update was published at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/. It includes 180 new chemicals. Occupational disease were delinked from chemical adverse effects for the following: 

1. Chemical asphyxiation
2. Parkinsonism
3. Encephalopathy, chronic toxic
4. Encephalopathy, acute toxic
5. Neuropathy, toxic
6. Lung cancer
7. Aplastic anemia
8. Hemolytic anemia

Delinking means that chemicals linked to an adverse effect (occupational & non-occupational) are no longer automatically linked to the occupational disease. For example, adiponitrile continues to be linked to the adverse effect "chemical asphyxiation," but it is no longer linked to the occupational disease with the same name. Adiponitrile can cause chemical asphyxiation after ingestion, but this effect has not been reported after occupational exposure. 

September 10, 2008

Published new page on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

July 16, 2008

The latest update was published last week at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/. It includes 232 new chemicals. A review was completed of 663 chemicals added to Haz-Map in the 1990s. Also revised were kidney diseases and mapping rules for chronic solvent encephalopathy, Parkinsonism, lead compounds, simple asphyxiants, and chemical asphyxiants. Twenty-nine Agent-Disease relationships were edited based on "Health Hazard Summaries For Industrial and Occupational Chemicals" in Olson, Table IV-4. For details of changes, see Agent-Disease Links, Section 1. 

May 12, 2008

The American Journal of Industrial Medicine has published "An Internet Database for the Classification and Dissemination of Information about Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases" in the June issue, pages 428-435.

March 8, 2008

Completed update of 663 chemicals first entered into Haz-Map in the 1990's. Revisions included Sources/Uses, vapor pressures, lethal concentrations, synonyms, flash points, chemical structures, ERG 2004 Guides, Adverse Effects, associated Processes, and associated Diseases. See Agent-Disease Links.

March 2, 2008

Thanks to the editorial board for accepting and to the editor, Sue Trebswether, for publishing "How to Use Haz-Map" at http://www.asse.org/professionalsafety/cover.php.

February 4, 2008

Read the preprint of an article accepted for publication in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine © Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. The article is available as a Word document and is entitled "An Internet Database for the Classification and Dissemination of Information about Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases."

December 17, 2007

Added new page, "Renal Diseases."

August 18, 2007

Sent to NLM 61 new Agent profiles including 4 Elements, Metallic; 20 Explosives; 5 Glycol Ethers; 4 Hydrocarbons, Aliphatic Saturated; and 3 Phosphorus Compounds.

July 20, 2007

The latest update was published today at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/. The Glossary and References pages were updated. New editions of references include the Merck Index (2006), Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary (2001), Asthma in the Workplace (2006), LaDou (2007), Rom (2007), and CDC Travel (2007). Several new references were added for Ionizing Radiation. Revisions were accomplished for agents linked to Occupational asthma (linked to 258 agents) and Contact urticaria (linked to 107 agents) based on the new references. Ten new causes of Hypersensitivity pneumonitis were added. Chronic bronchitis was renamed Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive (COPD) which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. New diseases are Bronchiolitis obliterans and Pneumoconioses, other. Pneumoconioses, benign was revised. New agents include 28 Radionuclides and 30 Radioactive Compounds. Other new agents are Vermiculite, Trona, Wollastonite, Diacetyl, Flock, Bentonite, and Fuller's earth. 

May 23, 2007

News release from U.S. Department of Labor concerning an interagency agreement with the National Library of Medicine to publish Haz-Map more frequently.

May 9, 2007

Revised Fifty Preventable Occupational Diseases. Added Help with Evaluating Occupational Exposure or Diagnosing Occupational Disease

April 15, 2007

Revised the following pages based on new and updated references: Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, OA: Chemicals, OA: Biologicals, ACD: Chemicals, ACD: Biologicals, Contact Urticaria, OA and ACD: Drugs, OA and ACD: Dyes.

March 23, 2007

Added two new pages: Pneumoconioses and Chronic Bronchitis & COPD.

March 21, 2007

NLM has published the updated database as described below (December 8, 2006 and August 17, 2006) at http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/.

January 10, 2007

Added new page, "Ionizing Radiation."

December 8, 2006

Thirty-two new agents were added to Haz-Map including: 8 herbicides, 8 insecticides, 3 rodenticides, 3 PAHs (Soots, Shale oils, and Acenaphthene), 1 fibrogenic dust (Erionite), and 2 sources of Radiation, solar and ionizing. One new disease was added: "Radiation sickness, acute." The description and links to all occupational cancers were revised based on Boice and Siemiatycki. See "Occupational Cancer" for a summary of those changes. These additions plus the 2005-2006 update will be published on the NLM website soon.

September 25, 2006

Added new page, "Occupational Cancer." Revised "What Is It?" and "Overview of Database."

August 17, 2006

The 2005-2006 update was recently completed and will be published on the NLM website later this year. 184 chemicals were added to Haz-Map. Included are all chemicals in the Wiser database, all TIH (toxic inhalation hazards) chemicals in the 2004 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG), and all chemicals in the ACGIH database. There are now 586 chemicals in Haz-Map with links to the ERG online database. Each chemical is linked to one of the 62 guides that recommend the appropriate emergency response after a fire or spill. Based on the ERG database, 44 chemicals in Haz-Map are tagged as "Dangerous When Wet" and 43 chemicals are tagged as "Explosive Polymerization." Hepatotoxic effects of chemicals were reviewed based on Hepatotoxicity by HJ Zimmerman. All LC50 and LCLo values were reviewed and updated. ERPGs for 95 chemicals were added. ERPGs (Emergency Response Planning Guidelines) were developed by AIHA as 1-hr exposure limits for mild, moderate, and life-threatening health effects. Carcinogens are now identified with IARC, NTP, and ACGIH designations. Occupational cancers were revised based on new references. New infectious disease references were added. One or more "reactive groups" from the CAMEO database are assigned to each chemical. Major Category and Minor Category for each chemical were reviewed and revised. See the Bibliography page for new and revised references including the CAMEO database from EPA, the CHEMINFO database from CCOHS, and the latest documents from ACGIH.

February 3, 2005

The 2004-2005 update has been completed and will be published on the NLM website later this year. Haz-Map will no longer be published as a PC application. The update is based on the latest editions of referenced books, and new books have been added to the Bibliography. For the period of July 2003 to December 2004, articles in the following journals were reviewed: Appl Occup Environ Hyg, Int Arch Occup Environ Health, JOEM, Occup Environ Med, and Scand J Work Environ Health. Haz-Map now covers travel-related infections as listed in Health Information for International Travel 2003-2004 published by CDC.

November 7, 2003

An extensive update of many agents and diseases for Version 4.0 was completed in October. There are now 1237 Agents, 189 Diseases, and 1004 hyperlinks in the database. Current statistics on the number of Agents associated with an Adverse Effect include: asthma - 256; skin sensitizer - 366; lacrimator - 59; pneumonitis - 168; skin burns - 235; hepatotoxin - 233; methemoglobin inducer - 94; reproductive toxin - 93. Reproductive hazards were revised based on Frazier. Current statistics on the number of Diseases associated with a Finding include: jaundice - 10; leukopenia - 15; pleural effusion - 12; pustule - 6; tremor - 7; wheezing - 10; abdominal pain - 18. Changes published by ACGIH in the 2003 TLVs and BEIs are included. Quick CPC and CHRIS were used to revise the Agents that cause skin burns. The Industry table was converted from SIC to NAICS. Haz-Map 4.0 is available from OEM Press.

September 27, 2003

Revised Lead Poisoning Facts, Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, and Links to Abstracts in PubMed

September 18, 2003

Updated Haz-Map Bibliography and Web Links.

May 18, 2003

After a comprehensive review of the medical literature, Version 3.0 was completed in December, 2002. There are now 1150 agents, 183 diseases, and over 800 hyperlinks to the web. Many agents causing occupational asthma and contact dermatitis were added based on Asthma in the Workplace, 2nd edition and Handbook of Occupational Dermatology, first published in 2000. The Access version of Haz-Map, 3.0 is for sale at OEM Press.

November 5, 2002

Revised (1.) OA: Chemicals, (2.) OA: Biologicals, (3.) ACD: Chemicals, (4.) ACD: Biologicals, (5.) Drugs: Occupational Skin and Respiratory Allergens; Also revised Secondary Liver Toxins: (6.) Solvents, (7.) Nitrogen Compounds, (8.) Other Compounds and (9.) Secondary Methemoglobin Inducers;

May 8, 2002

The web version of Haz-Map is now available for free on the National Library of Medicine web site: http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/

Soon the PC version 2.0 will be available at OEM Press. Content has been revised and no installation will be necessary  for users who own Microsoft Access 2000 or Access 2002. The option to install a runtime version of Access will continue to be available.

November 29, 2001

Revised Occupational Infections. The PC version of Haz-Map is for sale at OEM Press. This version is distributed as a Microsoft Access 2000 application. For screen shots of the forms, see User Interface #1, User Interface #2, User Interface #3. Install the application from a CD, and it will install a run-time version of Access 2000 if you need it. The CD comes with a user's manual that includes a glossary. 

January 6, 2001

Staff at the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program at the National Library of Medicine are working to make available later this year a web version of Haz-Map. OEM Press will begin distributing a PC version of Haz-Map in May of 2001.

September 17, 2000

See how the new user interface will work: User Interface #1, User Interface #2, User Interface #3.

September 6, 2000

The content and user interface of the Haz-Map database have been completed.

May 22, 2000

Revised "Chemicals that Cause Occupational Allergic Contact Dermatitis"

January 15, 2000

Haz-Map was presented on Friday, January 28, 2000 at the Healthy People 2010 Conference in Washington, DC. See the PowerPoint slide presentation of Haz-Map.

December 11, 1999

Added New Interface showing the Agents form that will be used in the database application

December 3, 1999

Added Chemical Hazard Scores

November 24, 1999

Added Search form

November 9, 1999

Revised lists of hepatoxic chemicals

August 2, 1999

Added Index of Diseases and Confined Space Hazards

January 27, 1999

Revised Inhalation Fever and Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

January 11, 1999

Added Occupational Skin Infections

January 8, 1999

Revised Occupational Infections

January 2, 1999

The site gets a fresh coat of paint! With the new navigational structure, you can browse the whole site by starting at the first page and then clicking the button at the bottom of each page. This will take you through the main pages of the site.

Many of the main pages have secondary pages that you can visit by clicking at the bottom of the main page. To get back to the main page from a secondary page, click .

A new page was added on Occupational Asthma: Definition, Prevalence and Prevention.

December 13, 1998

Revised Overview of Haz-Map: Chemicals, Exposures and Diseases

December 6, 1998

Do you have information to share about a high-risk job task? See the new Feedback Form.

November 29, 1998

Added "Diseases and Job Tasks" and "Chemicals and Processes"

November 27, 1998

Added two pages on "Toxic Hepatitis"

November 26, 1998

Added "Occupational Infections"

November 21, 1998

Added "Occupational Diseases, the Tip of an Iceberg."