CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific information solutions, and the Pistoia Alliance, a global non-profit that works to lower barriers to innovation in life science and healthcare R&D, announced the launch of a new Pistoia Alliance Chemical Safety Library platform. This resource aims to mitigate the serious risks researchers working with potentially hazardous chemicals face due to unanticipated chemical reaction outcomes by enabling scientists to access and share hazardous reaction information drawn from real-life laboratory experiences.
The new open access platform, developed and hosted by CAS, supports industry efforts to increase the safety of workers in the lab by facilitating data sharing across the global chemical enterprise. “We have a duty to ensure the health and safety of researchers dedicating their lives to delivering breakthrough innovations,” says Carmen Nitsche, General Manager Cambridge Crystallography Data Centre and Chair, Chemical Safety Library Advisory Panel. “The Chemical Safety Library fulfills an important need and adds a key component to our safety toolbox.”
The enhancement of this unique resource, originally launched by the Pistoia Alliance as a prototype in 2017, was made possible through a partnership between the Pistoia Alliance and CAS announced earlier this year. “CAS is committed to empowering researchers with the information they need to be successful in each phase of the innovation journey, and supporting laboratory safety is a crucial part of that,” says CAS President Manuel Guzman. “We are proud to contribute our technology capabilities and expertise in scientific information management to develop and grow this critical resource that has tremendous potential to eliminate repeat incidents by making this critical information more widely and readily available.”
The new platform allows researchers from across academia, industry, and government institutions to access chemical safety incident information and confidently submit new hazardous reaction data. R&D organizations can also integrate the full library content into their knowledge centers and internal laboratory safety workflows. Reaction incident information is reviewed by an advisory panel including experts from ACS, CAS and the Pistoia Alliance management, as well as Pistoia Alliance member companies and outside experts.
“By providing researchers access to real world incident data, the Chemical Safety Library will prevent avoidable laboratory accidents every day,” notes Steve Arlington, president of the Pistoia Alliance. “I encourage researchers around the world to use this resource, make others aware of it and contribute to improving the safety of the chemical research community as a whole by sharing their experiences through the platform to protect others.”
For more information, visit the new Chemical Safety Library platform and the about page.
