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ECOTOX database; new additions and future direction
Citation:
Hoff, D., C. Elonen, B. Kinziger, A. Puglisi, AND A. Pilli. ECOTOX database; new additions and future direction. MWSETAC/SOT, Duluth, MN, March 09 - 11, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
not applicable
Description:
The ECOTOXicology database (ECOTOX) is a comprehensive, publicly available knowledgebase developed and maintained by ORD/NHEERL. It is used for environmental toxicity data on aquatic life, terrestrial plants and wildlife. Publications are identified for potential applicability after a comprehensive search of the open literature. All pertinent data presented by the authors is abstracted and entered into the database. Study details, such as species taxonomic hierarchy, chemical purity, routes of exposure, and all calculated or statistically derived endpoints provided by the authors is encoded in discrete data fields for each test result. This allows for a complete understanding of the exposure parameters and for expanded search capabilities. Once all quality assurance measures have been met, the data are released to the public database (www.epa.gov/ecotox). Quick or advanced search options give users the ability to search the database with great functionality on a wide variety of information. During the past 8 years, ECOTOX has aligned the coding of the aquatic and terrestrial references by the addition of data fields, adapted search terminology to better focus literature searches, and updated search screens. New data additions include current environmental chemicals of interest to researchers and regulators as well as endpoints at the cellular level. Since 2008, ECOTOX has increased coverage and depth of the knowledgebase by 26 % which includes 18407 abstracted publications, 4209 new species and 2044 new chemicals. This presentation will provide an overview of the current and future status for the ECOTOX database.