EU chemical database sets the standard
The International Uniform Chemical Information Database (IUCLID) has proved to be a valuable tool for assessing the risks of chemical substances being produced in Europe. As a result, the IUCLID format is now being adopted in the US, and looks set to become a world-wide standard for data collection. Background Assessing the risks associated with chemicals is a key element in both European and international policies on environmental protection. In Europe, legislation requires a risk assessment to be made not only for new chemical substances, but also for existing substances being produced in or imported into the EU. All manufacturers and importers of existing substances must therefore submit the information needed to carry out an accurate risk evaluation to a central collection point, the European Chemicals Bureau (ECB), which is part of the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. To handle this data, the ECB has developed IUCLID, a user-friendly database that can operate on various servers or on stand-alone PCs. Description, impact and results The development work for IUCLID began in 1993, and involved close co-operation between the ECB and the European chemical industry. It is now operational in all Member States, and is used regularly by 200 major chemical companies. By October 1999, approximately 30 000 substance dossiers had been uploaded. For obvious commercial reasons, market information and processing methodologies are kept confidential. However, a CD-ROM of non-commercial information on 1 408 substances has been made publicly available. These substances fall into the category of high production volume chemicals, i.e. chemicals that are produced in quantities of more than 1 000 tonnes per year per individual producer. As such, they are of particular interest to environmental groups and legislative bodies. An updated CD containing information on 2 593 substances will be available in February 2000. In order to make more of the database available publicly, considerable work has been undertaken to make IUCLID available on the Internet by early next year. A demonstration version is currently available at: http://ecb.ei.jrc.it/iuclidv3_demo(opens in new window). In addition to European-wide collaboration, the ECB has recently been working on this project at the international level. The American chemical industry has the same need for data collection as its European counterpart, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now adopted the IUCLID format. The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), which includes associations such as the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), the American Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA), and the Japanese Chemical Industry Association (JCIA), have also decided to use IUCLID for data collection and exchange among the main chemical companies world-wide. At the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Task Force Meeting on Existing Chemicals, held in Paris in October, the IUCLID database was adopted as the system to be used within the OECD Existing Chemicals Programme. With the recent decisions by OECD member countries and the ICCA, the IUCLID has now become the de facto standard for data collection and exchange on existing chemicals in these countries, both for international co-operation and national programmes. Working partnerships Further developments of IUCLID will be carried out within the framework of an OECD project led by the ECB on behalf of the European Commission. Funding for the project will come jointly from the Commission, EU industry and the CMA. Input for further development will be given by three government institutions in Japan, and close collaboration has taken place between the ECB and the Japanese Ministry for Trade and Industry (MITI).