Table of Contents: 2014 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER No. 400

NLM Resource Update: Household Products Database (HPD) Now Contains Over 14,000 Products

NLM Resource Update: Household Products Database (HPD) Now Contains Over 14,000 Products. NLM Tech Bull. 2014 Sep-Oct;(400):b4.

2014 September 12 [posted]

[Editor's Note: This is a reprint of an announcement published on NLM-Tox-Enviro-Health-L, an e-mail announcement list available from the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services. To subscribe to this list, please see the NLM-TOX-ENVIRO-HEALTH-L Join, Leave, or Change Options page.]

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Household Products Database (HPD) now contains over 14,000 products.

The latest update includes a new product category “Commercial/Institutional”. Product manufacturers of the more than 300 products in this category use various descriptions, including professional grade, professional use, hospital grade and more. Users can locate products using the new “Commercial/Institutional” link under "Browse by Category" on the HPD homepage or by entering the category/description terms (e.g. commercial, institutional, professional, hospital) as a Quick Search.

The Household Products Database links over 14,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by manufacturers and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients. The database is designed to help answer the following typical questions:

What are the chemical ingredients and their percentage in specific brands?
Which products contain specific chemical ingredients?
Who manufactures a specific brand? How do I contact this manufacturer?
What are the acute and chronic effects of chemical ingredients in a specific brand?
What other information is available about chemicals in the toxicology-related databases of the National Library of Medicine?

Information in the Household Products Database is from a variety of publicly available sources including brand-specific labels and Material Safety Data Sheets when available from manufacturers and manufacturers' Web sites.