Information system for hazardous substances (IGS-public)

The Information System for Hazardous Substances (IGS-public), an online portal of the State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia (LANUV), provides consumers with free information on substance characteristics and legislation on chemical and biological substances. The database with around 250,000 entries on substances contains important information on health protection and the handling of hazardous substances.

Hazardous substances

Hazardous substances include substances or mixtures that can have a harmful effect on humans and the environment during production or use. Hazardous substances also include substances that are assigned limit values. According to the Hazardous Substances Ordinance §3(GefStoffV) with reference to the hazardous substances according to the Chemicals Act §3(ChemG), hazardous substances are explosive substances and mixtures as well as substances and mixtures whose handling can produce hazardous substances. Furthermore, this also includes other hazardous chemical agents for substances, preparations and products and those that transmit pathogens.

Research via the IGS-public online database

The IGS-public database has been operated and regularly updated by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) for around 30 years.

From the website www.stoffliste.de, by clicking on the link“IGS-Public” – below the hazardous substance-Information for the public – you can access the IGS-Publicdatabase. By entering a substance name or the substance number (CAS number), it is possible to access more detailed links for the substance you are looking for. The search can be refined using various search options such as the “free text search” or the links with “AND”, “OR” and “NOT”.

Example of using the IGS-Public online database: Search for “asbestos“

By entering“Asbestos” in the entry field to the right of the substance name, you can click on“Asbestos general” to obtain a further selection of subtopics for a refined search as follows:

Use / Characterization
Legal classification / labeling
other classification / labeling
Substance data -> Physical chemical data or -> Toxicological data
Hazards / protective measures -> First aid -> Medical advice -> Protective measures -> Fire protection -> Accidents/release
Regulations / assessments / recommendations – > with further sub-items (- > including occupational limit values etc.)
Fact sheets
Links to external databases

Objective of the information system for hazardous substances (IGS-public)

In the database of the Information System for Hazardous Substances (IGS-public), data on biological and chemical substances are prepared in an informative manner to enable an assessment of the respective substance or group of substances. In this way, data on chemicals, natural substances, radionuclides as well as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites can be easily retrieved. Depending on the context, the selected data can relate to areas such as environmental, consumer, occupational, health or fire protection. The instructions on first aid in the event of contact with hazardous substances and mixtures of substances are particularly important for consumers. Information on disposal, storage and transportation of the substances may also be important for consumers.

Under certain circumstances, contact with hazardous substances can also occur in the home and at the workplace. Special measuring devices are ideal for measuring hazardous substances at the workplace or in residential buildings. In the GSA measuring devices online store, we carry a wide selection of suitable GSA measuring devices for special measurements, in particular for measurements at the workplace such as for asbestos measurements measurements. In addition, many of our measuring devices can be used for hazardous substance measurements, such as the SG10-2 or the SG12, even for measurements with high volume flow rates.

Sources:

www.eurofins.de/umwelt/unternehmen/aktuelles/news/stoffdatenbank-igs-public-kostenfrei-nutzbar/

www.lanuv.nrw.de/umwelt/gefahrstoffe

www.stoffliste.de

www.umwelt.nrw.de/umwelt/umweltzustand-und-umweltinformationen/igs-informationssystem-fuer-gefaehrliche-stoffe