The PubChem database Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries (LCSS) view contains chemical information regarding handling, toxicity information, waste disposal methods, as well as other important safety information for a chemical. The problem is that the information sources for LCSS are very broad and not specific to different types of users. For example, in the case of toluene, the LCSS information for cleanup and disposal methods is intended for a user on a large scale such as production or a hazmat responder, but would not be applicable to a user in a sophomore organic chemistry lab or a user trying to remove household paint from a paint brush. The goal of this project is to review the safety data available in PubChem and organize it in a manner where a user can state what type of user they are and the LCSS will highlight pertinent information for that type of use. One approach is through a series of questions that will help the LCSS sort the data by relevance to the type of end user. A matrix style rubric will be developed that identifies types of users and criteria questions and will be tested on a subset of LCSSs. For the first pass at improving the usability of this information, a simple, three-level model of the potential users will be used, including the household user, the laboratory user, and the hazmat responder. These use cases will be focused by addressing a set of questions within each of these contexts relating to flammability, toxicity, personal protection, ventilation, waste disposal and spill cleanup. This presentation will discuss the mentorship of this student review by an EHS professional.

Reviewing PubChem laboratory chemical safety summaries for different user types

251st National Meeting (2016)

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