AICS Detailed Help / Guidance Notes

 

AICS online is the list of chemicals on the non-confidential section of the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances (AICS) that can be searched via the Internet. This list is updated every fortnight.

Suggested strategy of Searching

AICS online can be searched using the following three chemical identifiers:

• CAS number
  The Easiest and fastest method to search AICS online. We recommend that you try to find the CAS number first if the chemical name you have is not on AICS. There are several useful Internet sites to help find CAS numbers.

• Chemical name and associated names
  The second most useful method for searching AICS is by chemical name. However chemicals are known by many names and these may not be listed on AICS. If the chemical name you have is not found on AICS, then we recommend that you try and find other names for the chemical. There are several useful Internet sites to find other chemical names.

• Molecular formula
  Search by molecular formula is least effective and recommended to be used in combination with chemical name search. Few chemicals on AICS have molecular formulas.

Internet sites
There are several Internet sites that are helpful identifying CAS numbers or chemical names:

• Chemical information

• Internet search engines

Search strategies for specific group of chemicals
Further guidance is provided for the following groups of chemicals:

• Polymers

• Cosmetics

Confidential AICS search

CAS Number Search

The CAS Number is a unique number assigned to a substance when it is entered into the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) REGISTRY database. More information on CAS is available at
http://www.cas.org; and
NICNAS Handbook Appendix July 2007 (PDF 604kB).

Because each CAS number is a unique identifying number, in contrast to chemical or associated names for which there may be multiple names in use for a chemical, searching the AICS using CAS number is the easiest and least ambiguous method of identifying whether chemicals are listed or not.

The format of CAS number is three blocks of numbers separated by dashes ie. XXX-XX-X. The first block can be between 2 and 6 digits. The second block has only 2 digits and the last block is always a single digit. Any preceding zeros in the first block need to be discarded. For example, the CAS number for formaldehyde is 50-00-0.

If the entered CAS number matches a CAS number listed on AICS exactly, details of the chemical will be displayed on the screen. The result of a search using a CAS number is limited to only a single chemical. If CAS number entered is not the correct format (eg. too few or many numbers), an alert message will be displayed. The CAS number search field will not accept "wild card" searches.

As an example, to search for formaldehyde, the CAS number (50-00-0 or 50000) can be entered into the search field and the search commenced by hiting Go. If no dashes are included, the system will add them to the last three digits. Below are screenshots of before and after searching for '50000'.

To print the results of the chemical search, click on the printable version. This will open the search result in a window suitable for printing (below).

If there are no hits for the CAS number then a negative search screen will appear stating "No results found".

Chemical Name Search

Chemicals are listed under 'Chemical Name' with their CAS approved name. Chemicals are more commonly known by names other than their CAS approved name. Only some of these associated names or synonyms are also included on AICS. Both these names can be searched by using the "Chemical Name Search" method.

In the example above, formaldehyde has six listed associated names on AICS. However, it has several more associated names, such as "Formal" which are not listed on AICS. Therefore, if "Formal" is entered for the search, a negative result will occur even though formaldehyde is listed.

The search engine for chemical name search has been set up to search for name fragments. A fragment is defined as a word, with a 'space' or 'bracket' or '-' or 'number' separating the next word.

Please note that the chemical names are in different formats on AICS (eg. extra space, bracket or sequence) and a negative result may occur if the correct format is not used. Given below are two examples for simple chemicals with different name formats:

1. Methylethyl ketone is listed (for CAS 78-93-3) whereas ethylmethyl ketone and methyl ethyl ketone are not listed, though they represent the same chemical.

2. Isopropylbenzene is listed (for CAS No. 98-82-8) whereas searching on isopropyl benzene gives no result, though the chemical is the same.

3. Sodium sulfate (7757-82-6) is more commonly known as sodium sulphate. Sulfate is the CAS approved name format.

If you do not have the CAS number or correct chemical name, you should ensure that you have sufficient associated names to enable a comprehensive AICS search. Associated chemical names or synonyms can be obtained through Internet sources or other published documents.

AICS does not list trade names or International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) names and so searching cannot be conducted for these names.

Chemical names and molecular formula searches can be enhanced by the use of the wildcard"*". This can be used in different search options.

Search results are limited to 200 hits for any search. If there are more than 200 hits, the search engine returns a request to refine the search. Chemical name searches can be refined using the operator phrases available as drop down menus.

There are several options for Chemical Name Search:

Operator phrases for Chemical Name Search:

(a)    Contains all words: The search will be conducted on all words entered on the line. The sequence or any preceding characters (including wildcards) are ignored. Wildcard option, "*", can be used at the end of words for search. This is the best option if a chemical name is long and has many components (eg polymers). For example, if 'pentanoic acid' is entered on the search field, the search engine will break the name into two fragments, 'pentanoic' and 'acid' and search for chemical names on AICS which contain both the fragments. There are about 82 records on AICS which contain the fragments.

(b)    Contains any words: This will search for any word entered on the line. This option has to be used in combination with other options as it may lead to large number of hits. For example, if 'pentanoic acid' is searched using this option, too many hits occur. This is because the search engine is trying to find if either of the fragments 'pentanoic' or 'acid' are listed in the chemical names on AICS.

(c)    Contains phrase: This will search for any phrase entered. The sequence of phrase items is maintained during the search. This option needs to be used with caution as it may result in negative result if the sequence on AICS does not match the search phrase.

For example, if 'pentanoic acid' is searched using contains phrase option, 82 records are returned, however, if the sequence is reversed and 'acid pentanoic' is searched for no results are returned.

    Starts with: This will search for any chemical name starting with the name entered. Here wild card,"*", can be used at either side of the word for searches. This is the best option when using wildcard.

For example, if 'pentanoic acid' is searched, all chemicals where pentanoic acid is the first part of the name are displayed.

(e)     Equals: This search matches the exact chemical name. In this option, spaces, brackets, commas, dashes are important and unless these are entered correctly the chemical will not be matched. Wildcard cannot be used with this option. It is useful when searching for individual chemical names (eg benzene, water etc).

(f)     Excludes phrase: This option will exclude any phrase/word entered. It should be noted that sequence is important in any phrase option. If you want to exclude only individual words, use this option on separate lines. This is useful to narrow down search results.

For example, to narrow down the search results for 'pentanoic acid' from 82 (using 'contains all words') option to manageable numbers, excludes phrase may be used. First identify the words/phrases in the list which you do not want in your results by scrolling down. Once these are identified, type the words on different search lines and use the option 'excludes phrase'.

Results when exclude terms are on the same line:

Results when exclude terms are on different search lines:

Any combination of the above operator phrases can be used to do the search.

Molecular Formula Search

Molecular formula information on AICS is limited to only a few chemicals. We recommend you use this option to assist only in narrowing chemical name searches.

The search operators phrases are:

Contains: This will search for phrase entered on the line. The sequence of phrase is maintained during the search. This option needs to be used with caution as it may result in negative result if the sequence on AICS does not match the search phrase. Wildcard, "*", can be used in the search if the sequence is not known.

Starts with: This will search for molecular formula starting with the phrase entered. Wildcard, "*", is useful to get more hits and can be used in the start or end of phrase.

Equals: This search matches the exact molecular formula. This option is useful when molecular formula is known. Wildcard is not useful in this option.

Excludes phrase: This option will exclude any phrase/word entered.

Internet sites

Chemical Information Databases

Given below are some links which may be useful to find chemical information. It should be noted that information on these links may not be accurate.

• EU Existing chemicals page http://ecb.jrc.it/existing-chemicals/


The EU Existing chemical inventory, EINECS, can be searched on this site by using chemical name or EINECS numbers. This site is particularly useful to identify CAS number when an EINECS number is available.
 

• EU cosmetics chemicals list http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/sccp/out123cm_en.pdf


Information on cosmetic ingredients and their chemical identities are available on this site.
 

• National Library of Medicine (US) http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemical.html


This site lists chemicals and available toxicity information. It is particularly useful as it lists chemicals which are not on major inventories.

• MSDS-Search http://www.msdssearch.com


The link on this site can be used to find other sites where the chemical identities can be searched.

Internet search engines

Any Internet search engine (Yahoo, ninemsn, google etc) can also be used to find if information on chemical name and CAS number.

Search results can be narrowed down using the advanced search options (contains phrase, exactly etc). An easier way is to add additional search terms. For instance if you are searching for a chemical name only and get more than 2000 hits, just add the term 'CAS number' and redo the search. This will show the site hits where both the 'chemical name' and CAS number' are on the web site.

Search strategies for specific group of chemicals

Polymers

Searching for polymers by name can be difficult as the names are long and chemical names are sometimes in different formats. Given below are a few hints on how to search for polymers on AICS.

Clearly, because of the complexity of polymer names, searching for polymers on AICS using the CAS number is the best option. However, if no CAS number is available, it is best to break the chemical name into keyword fragments and search for a combination of these fragments to find the polymer. An example of a polymer chemical name search is below:

Example 1:
Polymer to be searched:
Phenol, 4,4'-(1-methylethylidene)bis-, polymer with (chloromethyl)oxirane, polymer with paraformaldehyde, 3-methylphenol,
2-methylphenol and 4-methylphenol

This polymer name can be broken down into the following keyword fragments:
Phenol
Methylethylidene
Chloromethyl
Oxirane
Paraformaldehyde
Methylphenol

Choose the search operator "Contains all words" and input the fragments on the same line or different lines. Click Go to search for the polymer.

If there is more than one hit for the name combination, then all the search results will be displayed. In this case only one chemical name was found on AICS and it will be displayed as follows:

Example 2:
This example demonstrates a search sequence for a polymer where the supplied chemical name is different to the name listed on AICS.

Polymer to be searched:
Acrylic acid, polymer with acrylonitrile, butyl acrylate and styrene

If the above polymer is searched for the keyword fragments acrylic acid, acrylonitrile, butyl acrylate and styrene, the search will return as negative.

However, if synonyms for each keyword fragment can be identified using AICS or other sources, these can be used for the AICS search.

Synonym for acrylic acid on AICS is:
2-propenoic acid;

Synonyms for butyl acrylate on AICS are:
2-Propenoic acid, butyl ester
Acrylic acid, butyl ester
Butyl 2-propenoate
n-Butyl acrylate

Synonyms for acrylonitrile on AICS are:
2-Propenenitrile
Cyanoethylene

Synonyms for styrene on AICS are:
Benzene, ethenyl-
Ethenylbenzene
Vinylbenzene

A combination of the above synonyms can be used for the search as shown below:

Several possible candidate polymers may be returned. The correct polymer can be identified manually from the list by clicking on the CAS number (see below).

Clearly, it is important to consider synonyms when conducting chemical name searches.

Cosmetics

Cosemtic chemicals are known by their more common industry trade names eg. INCI. As most of these trade names are not on AICS, searching with these terms will generally yield negative results. The strategies to find cosmetic ingredients are:

1. Contact your supplier to get correct chemical details or ask them to check the chemicals.

2. Use Internet resources to find chemical information and use it to search AICS. Please note that information on these links may not be accurate.

Example:

Stearamide DEA

If this term is searched on AICS, no results are obtained.

However from Internet searching the CAS number can be found.

The CAS number for this chemical is 93-82-3 and using this information AICS can be searched.

Confidential AICS Search

If there is no match on the chemical name or CAS number, the chemical may be listed in the confidential section of AICS. This section cannot be searched via the web. For NICNAS to conduct a search of the confidential section of the AICS, written submission of a bona fide intention to manufacture or import the chemical must be submitted to NICNAS. View a PDF version of the AICS-5C Confidential Search Form
(PDF 104kB).