Fact Sheet
Household Products Database

Some household products contain substances that can pose health risks if they are ingested or inhaled, or if they come into contact with eyes and skin. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Household Products Database is a consumer's guide that provides information on the potential health effects of chemicals contained in more than 16,000 common household products used inside and around the home. This database allows scientists and consumers to find out about ingredients in brand-name products. It is designed to help answer questions like these:

• What chemicals are contained in specific brands and in what percentage?
• Which products contain specific chemicals?
• Who manufactures a specific brand? How can the manufacturer be contacted?
• What are the potential adverse health effects (acute and chronic) of the ingredients in a specific brand?
• What other information is available about such chemicals in the toxicology-related databases of the National Library of Medicine?

The database allows users to browse the following product categories:

• Auto Products
• Pesticides
• Personal Care/Use
• Arts & Crafts
• Home Office
• Inside the Home
• Landscape/Yard
• Home Maintenance
• Pet Care
• Commercial/Institutional

by alphabetical listing of brand names. Products can also be searched by type, manufacturer, product ingredient/chemical name and by health effects.

The record for each product shows the ingredients as reported in the manufacturers’ Safety Data Sheet (SDS), formerly Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), and includes other information such as handling, disposal, and health effects. For more technical information from other NLM resources, users can launch a search for a product or ingredient in TOXNET® from the "Product" or "Ingredients" page in the database. Users can also search PubMed from the chemical information of the "Ingredients" page to find effects of the chemicals in humans in the published biomedical literature.

For more detailed information about HPD or TOXNET, contact:

Specialized Information Services
National Library of Medicine
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6707 Democracy Boulevard, MSC 5467
Bethesda, MD 20892-5467
Telephone: (301) 496-1131
FAX: (301) 480-3537
E-mail: tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov
URL: https://sis.nlm.nih.gov

For general information on NLM services, contact:

National Library of Medicine
Customer Service
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Bethesda, MD 20894
Telephone: 1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)
email: //www.nlm.nih.gov/contacts/contact.html
NLM Customer Service Form at Contact NLM

A complete list of NLM Fact Sheets is available at:
(alphabetical list) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsheets.html
(subject list): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsubj.html

Or write to:

FACT SHEETS
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894

Phone: (301) 496-6308
Fax: (301) 496-4450
email: publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov