Lessons learned in building a global information network on chemicals (GINC).
The Global Information Network on Chemicals (GINC) was a project to construct a worldwide information network linking international, national, and other organizations working for the safe management of chemicals. Proposed in 1993, the project started the next year and lasted almost 10 years. It was begun as a joint project of World Health Organization (WHO), International Labor Organization (ILO), and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and later endorsed by the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS). Asia, particularly East Asia and the Pacific islands, was chosen as the feasibility study region. The author's group then at the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) of Japan led this initiative and hosted numerous meetings. At these meetings, tutorial sessions for communicating chemical safety expertise and emerging new information technologies relevant to the safe management of chemicals were offered. Our experience with this project, particularly the Web-based system and the tutorial sessions, may be of use to others involved with Web-based instruction and the training of chemical safety specialists from both developed and developing countries.
Kaminuma
Tsuguchika
T
Center for Quantum Life Science, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken 739-8530, Japan. kaminuma@cbi.or.jp
D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D007255:Information Services; D038622:Internationality