EPA Makes More Chemical Databases Available to the Public
From an EPA Announcement: ToxCastDB users can search and download data from over 500 rapid chemical tests conducted on more than 300 environmental chemicals. ToxCast uses advanced scientific tools to predict the potential toxicity of chemicals and to provide a cost-effective approach to prioritizing which chemicals of the thousands in use require further testing. ToxCast is currently screening 700 additional chemicals, and the data will be available in 2012. ExpoCastDB consolidates human exposure data from studies that have collected chemical measurements from homes and child care centers. Data include the amounts of chemicals found in food, drinking water, air, dust, indoor surfaces and urine. ExpoCastDB users can obtain summary statistics of exposure data and download datasets. EPA will continue to add internal and external chemical exposure data and advanced user interface features to ExpoCastDB. The new databases link together two important pieces of chemical research — exposure and toxicity data — both of which are required when considering potential risks posed by chemicals. The databases are connected through EPA’s Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR), an online data warehouse that collects data on over 500,000 chemicals from over 500 public sources. See Also: “EPA Removes Confidentiality Claims for More Than 150 Chemicals” (via INFOdocket) Continue reading
New Mobile Resources From the State Department, NLM, and USDA
Here are links from INFOdocket. New State Department"Smart Traveler"iPhone App Available http://infodocket.com/2011/06/14/new-state-department-iphone-app-available/ Travel info. iPhone app; Free. "Digitized Medical Books: National Library of Medicine Releases “Turning the Pages” iPad App" http://infodocket.com/2011/06/16/digitized-medical-books-national-library-of-medicine-releases-turning-the-pages-ipad-app/ iPhone app; Free "Food Safety Questions? USDA Releases Mobile Version of “Ask Karen” Virtual Assistant" http://infodocket.com/2011/06/14/food-safety-questions-usda-releases-mobile-version-of-ask-karen-virtual-assistant/ Mobile Web; FREE Continue reading
Update on status of e-government funding
Sunlight has an update on the status of funding for e-government programs:
- Draft H. Appropriations Bill Would Slightly Increase E-Gov Fund, by Daniel Schuman, Sunlight Foundation blog (June 15, 2011). In a legislative twist, funding for the Electronic Government Fund appears to have been combined with funding for the Office of Citizen Services, making it difficult to figure out how much money will actually go towards e-gov websites. My best guess is that the legislation would increase the money available for e-gov to $13m from the $8m appropriated in FY 2011, which is still far off from the $34m available in FY 2010.
GPO Releases 150th Anniversary History Book, Keeping America Informed
GPO Releases 150th Anniversary History Book, Keeping America Informed FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2011 No. 11-35 MEDIA CONTACT: GARY SOMERSET 202.512.1957, 202.355.3997 cell gsomerset@gpo.gov GPO RELEASES 150TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY BOOK, KEEPING AMERICA INFORMED WASHINGTON-The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has released Keeping America Informed: The U.S. Government Printing Office: 150 Years of Service to the Nation as the agency observes its 150th anniversary. The first official GPO history to be released in 50 years, Keeping America Informed conveys GPO's history through text and photographs, many never published before. Created to bring an end to the costly and ineffective system of private sector printing originally used by the Federal Government, GPO opened its doors for business on March 4, 1861, the same day as President Lincoln's inauguration. Since then, through war and peace, boom and bust, GPO has produced countless historic publications for the Government, including the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as the vast range of documents that Americans have used for generations, such as passports, social security cards, census and tax forms, and others. The book focuses on GPO's role as the source of information by and about the Government for the past 150 years and the successive technologies used by GPO to carry out that role, from hand-set type to today's digital files. Keeping America Informed is available on GPO's Online Bookstore and GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) at www.fdsys.gov. Link to Online Bookstore: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/gpo-keeping-america-informed.jsp Link to FDsys: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-KEEPINGAMERICAINFORMED/pdf/GPO-KEEPINGAMERICAINFORMED.pdf Continue reading
“U.S. Congress/NARA: “National Archives May Digitize Searches”
Via INFOdocket Roll Call reports: The National Archives could be just months away from starting a long-planned project to create for the first time a searchable digital log of the archives of Congress. The project, which had been discussed for about six years, would essentially catalog Congressional records dating back to 1789 and create a database where researchers could search for specific topics. Though it wouldn't digitize the records themselves, the database would point researchers to places within the expansive records where that topic is discussed. "The idea is to take those various sources ... and to make it a state-of-the-art finding aid," Senate Archivist Karen Paul said. + Final Plan Approved Yesterday + Archivist of the United States David Ferriero, expressed concerned over the cost + Cost Estimate Should Be Provided in Six Months + Size? 500 Million Pages (200,000 Cubic Feet of Records) + Expected To Take Five Years to Complete Read the Full Text Article Continue reading