Helpful Links

University links

ACS links

Here you can find the different LSTs across america

This website includes tools and information on how to identify hazards, assess risk, and select the appropriate control measures to eliminate a hazard or minimize risk, accidents, injuries and near misses can be reduced in the research environment.

This resource is intended for the first- and second-year students, but departments are using it with their graduate students to assure safety awareness of their TAs.
Also available for purchase through the ACS online store.

This report was prepared to assist academic departments in building and reinforcing strong safety cultures and identifies elements of strong safety cultures (see below), topics and resources for laboratory and chemical safety education, and recommendations to build and enhance safety cultures in academic institutions. 

This is the C&EN blog, "The Safety Zone." ACS has a very vibrant Division on Chemical Health and Safety which graduate students can join for free. One of the member benefits is access to a very informative community connected through the listserv where members answer questions, engage in very interesting discussions and mentor each other.​​​​​​​x

The ACS Center for Lab Safety supports and promotes the safe, ethical, responsible, and sustainable practice of chemistry through ease access to authoritative tools, education, training, and guidance.

Chemical Safety Links

Hazard Assessment Website

This website includes tools and information on how to identify hazards, assess risk, and select the appropriate control measures to eliminate a hazard or minimize risk, accidents, injuries and near misses can be reduced in the research environment.

Safety in the Academic Laboratories

This resource is intended for the first- and second-year students, but departments are using it with their graduate students to assure safety awareness of their TAs. 

Also available for purchase through the ACS online store.

Creating Safety Cultures in Academic Institutions

This report was prepared to assist academic departments in building and reinforcing strong safety cultures and identifies elements of strong safety cultures (see below), topics and resources for laboratory and chemical safety education, and recommendations to build and enhance safety cultures in academic institutions. 

C&EN blog “The Safety Zone”

This is the C&EN blog, "The Safety Zone." ACS has a very vibrant Division on Chemical Health and Safety which graduate students can join for free. One of the member benefits is access to a very informative community connected through the listserv where members answer questions, engage in very interesting discussions and mentor each other.

Pistoia Alliance Chemical Safety Library (CSL)

Crowd sourced data content containing hazardous reactions that can be used to alert scientists to potential dangerous experiments.

PubChem: Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary (LCSS)

This PubChem database provides the Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary (LCSS), which has easily accessible, helpful information to help implement and develop safe laboratory practices. You can watch this NCBI Minute to learn about how to access the LCSS to find the most relevant chemical safety information including flammability, toxicity, exposure limits, exposure symptoms, first aid, handling, and clean up.

Prudent Practices in the Laboratory

This is the book that has served for decades as the standard for chemical laboratory safety practice. It offers prudent practices designed to promote safety and includes practical information on assessing hazards, managing chemicals, disposing of wastes, and more.

Not Voodoo

This website aims at demystifying synthetic organic chemistry with a number of fun and useful topics. Check out the Rookie Mistakes; the Tips and Tricks to make your reaction go smoothly; and the Magic Formulas for workups, reactions and etc.

CAMEO Chemicals

CAMEO® (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations) software is a database of hazardous chemical datasheets that emergency responders and planners can use to get response recommendations such as compatible absorbents and predict hazards—such as explosions or toxic fumes. CAMEO® was developed by by NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration and EPA's Office of Emergency Management.

CAS Common Chemistry

CAS Common Chemistry provides names, other identifiers, and property informaton of nearly 500,000 common and frequently regulated chemical substances from CAS REGISTRY.

Knovel

Database of important reference works from engineering and related fields. Includes classical chemical safety resources like Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards (8th edition), Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials (12th edition), Sittig's Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens.

Organic Syntheses

Online access to classic reference work giving detailed synthetic methods. Procedures are independently checked & safety warnings given if warranted. More recent entries tend to describe preparation of compound classes. Structure searchable.

Reaxys

Provides access to chemical structure, reaction, and property information on organic, inorganic, and organometallic compounds; its contents are derived from Beilstein (organic compounds) and Gmelin (inorganic and organometallic compounds), which date to the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as selected English-language chemical patents. 

Science of Synthesis

Science of Synthesis is a compendium of synthetic methods for organic and organometallic chemistry. We have access to the Science of Synthesis Backlist (2002 – 2008); Knowledge Updates (2009-2015); and Reference Libraries (2009-2015) (see the Books tab). The Houben–Weyl Methods of Molecular Transformations Backfile (1909 -2001) is accessible via the Book Series tab. Note that many of the Houben-Weyl Archive articles are in German. You may browse the table of contents of individual volumes or search by keyword and limit by facet. 

SciFinder-n

SciFinder-n is the updated version of SciFinder and is the best database for topics related to chemistry and adjacent fields. It includes journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and patents. Find substance and reaction information as well as suppliers and chemical regulatory data. 

SAChE

Safety and Chemical Engineering Education (SAChE) has a series of courses and videos designed for undergraduate engineering students. The process safety framework is an important knowledge base for chemical, mechanical and industrial engineering, as well as in chemists. This material is also beneficial to young engineers in industrial settings. SAChE is free for students, professors and schools.

Safety Net

The Safety Net was created by Prof. Alexander J. M. Miller (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and Prof. Ian A. Tonks (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities). The site is maintained by the Miller and Tonks groups: built by synthetic organometallic chemists with the needs of academic synthetic chemists in mind. 

My Green Lab

My Green Lab is a California non-profit, aimed at fundamentally and permanently improving the sustainability of scientific research.  Run “for scientists, by scientists”, My Green Lab leverage their credibility and track record to develop standards, oversee their implementation, and inspire the many behavioral changes that are needed throughout the scientific community. 

Dow Lab Safety Academy

The goal of Dow Lab Safety Academy is to enhance the awareness of safe practices in academic research laboratories and to promote a safety-first mindset in the future workforce of the chemical industry. The Safety Academy contains safety-related modules, plans, and resources related to lab safety and sustainability that are helpful in developing university safety cultures.

Northwestern RSSI (Research Safety Student Initiative)

The safety team at Northwestern University. The mission of RSSI is to develop and promote a stronger culture of safety across research laboratories at Northwestern University through an increased awareness of safety hazards and a more positive mindset towards safe laboratory practices.

UCCLS: UC Center for Laboratory Safety

The UC Center for Laboratory Safety (UCCLS) was created to improve the practice of laboratory safety through the performance of scientific research and implementation of best safety practices in the laboratory. The Center operates under the oversight of the UC Center for Laboratory Safety Advisory Board with technical support from the UCLA Office of Environment, Health and Safety.

Periodic Table of Elements of Safety

The ACS Division, in partnership with the Princeton University Department of Environmental Health and Safety, published a Periodic Table of the Elements of Safety. The table demonstrates various safety elements in the form of a periodic table, grouped by four key elements of safety: R.A.M.P. (Recognized, Assess, Minimize and Prepare).