Environment, health, and safety online.

Professionals in chemistry, engineering, and environmental science are working to deliver factual and easy-to-understand information at the grassroots website Environment, Health, and Safety Online (http://www.ehso.com/). This densely packed website of more than 2,000 pages describes itself as offering "free, objective information for the general public and environmental health science professionals."

From its initial screen, readers can access the latest science news from the Federal Register and federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Under the State Agencies link at the top of the page, there are also links to various sites sponsored by each state's environment-related agencies.

Under Free Information for the General Public and EHS Professionals, more than 200 topics are listed alphabetically, ranging from aflatoxin to workplace health issues. These pages pull together resources from across the Internet. For instance, a visitor can click on Employee's Rights Under OSHA to learn what training an employer must supply about working with chemicals, how to ask an employer to correct violations, how to file complaints with OSHA--even how to download the official OSHA complaint form. The PPE-Personal Protective Equipment section gives information about who must wear respirators, the various types of respirators, and how to select, fit, clean, disinfect, and routinely inspect a respirator.

To the left of this table of contents, visitors can select Search Government Sites to find federal communications of interest--for example, to review the current wording of a federal or state regulation, find a regulation on a certain topic, or search for Federal Register notices that affect a particular business. Links at this page find answers to such questions by searching the Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register notices, and federal agency websites. Inquiries can be narrowed to search only the most recent EPA, OSHA, or DOT regulations.

To decipher technical jargon, visitors can click on Acronyms at the top of the homepage to check the alphabetized list of about 125 terms commonly used by environmental health professionals. The list helps novices understand unfamiliar terms, and also serves as a quick memory jogger for professionals searching for the meaning of uncommon terms.

A section called Pollutor News describes the enforcement of EPA regulations against environmental criminals. Pollutor News reports on the enforcement of regulations against environmental criminals, such as the EPA's recent fining of a Tucson company for storing hazardous chlorine without reporting it to state and local authorities. The company chlorinates swimming pools and was storing 10 times more chlorine than the minimum for which reporting is required.

The website was created in 1998 by chemical engineer John Slemmer, who maintains the site as a free public service. Slemmer welcomes inquiries from other professionals who want to help maintain and improve the website.