This talk is limited to the World Wide Web – we don’t include other resources, such as FTP sites or Gopher. Similarly this is not an exhaustive list of resources (we wish it were)! Merely a compilation of some of the sites we have found to be most useful. Also not covered are ‘training’ and ‘alternatives’ because there are other talks at this conference devoted to those issues, and the general topic of the veterinary care which is generally the purview of the institutional veterinarian. Before we get on to actual sites, we will briefly discuss some search strategies

There are 2 commonly-used options for starting a search from scratch: first, using commercial search engines and second, using databases and hotlinks. Some favorite search engines, are ‘HotBot’ (a recent "Science" paper (April 3^rd 1998) showed it to cover the highest number of indexed pages) Altavista, and ‘Metacrawler’ (which summarizes the results of several search engines). However it should be noted that according to the ‘Science’ article, no search engine covered more than a third of the estimated total indexed pages, and the drawback to using search engines is that it takes technique and time to get relevant results. For example, for the simple search term "IACUC, " Hotbot gave 1490 listings—definitely too many to trek through, although a more refined search would obviously have narrowed things down considerably. However the fastest method is often to start from a focused database such as NetVet.

Start from a database ( a term I use loosely to describe a collection of hotlinks in particular subject area) which has already narrowed the field to relevant sites. Pursuing hotlinks from good sites is rather like the old strategy of following references from a useful research paper. If you find a good research paper in your field, then the references at the end can be as useful as the paper. In the electronic world, finding a good "site" can reward you with lots of useful hotlinks.

Having followed all the hotlinks to the National Archives page, you can either browse the Federal Register using their "browse" feature, or search by keyword, date, or title/volume.

A very extensive list of hotlinks organized alphabetically according to which branch of the government you are dealing with. As described in the search examples above, the "Thomas" site http://thomas.loc.gov/ is a useful site to have bookmarked for laws and regulations, as is the National Archives and Records Administration GPO access site http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html

Mouse and rat research homepage geared to researchers, but could be useful resource for IACUC members, for example for localizing a hybridoma bank as an alternative to ascites production, description and sources of inbred strains, background information on transgenes and transgenic research.

Many of the listed sites on OSHWEB appear to be geared to the occupational health and safety professional rather than the IACUC member. However they contain comprehensive listings on safety –has subcategories of e.g. radiation safety, chemical safety, listservs, etc.

American Public Health Association listing geared to the general public.

Hotlinks to Laws, regulations, and guidance on the Public Health Service Policy.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) home page.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/ - Animal Care/APHIS home page.

http://clacc.uchc.edu/ - U. of Conn. Health Center Animal Care and Use home page

Posting of sample animal care and use protocol form on OPRR web site to be completed in late 1998-early 1999.

The facilities inspection part benefits from customization to suit individual institutions. For example typing in room numbers, noting deficiencies that have been noticed in the past, names of individuals to talk to, relevant protocol numbers, etc.

Univ. of Missouri. I like the discussion of how to conduct a facilities inspection—how to get the most out of it, i.e. ask individuals questions such as how things are done, what works and what doesn’t; remember to check on particular protocols, always try and clarify things with staff who may be present, etc.

What should a good occupational health and safety program contain, and who should it apply to? For example, are non-affiliated IACUC members or students in teaching labs covered?

When does the IACUC need to ask for a safety review? Is the protocol review process used to check that personnel working with animals are enrolled in an appropriate occupational health program?

Consider the hazard presented by the animal or substance: frequency, duration, and nature of animal/substance contact; protective policies in force, and health status of individual personnel.

If you are consulting for a very small company that doesn’t have its own safety department, consider downloading this handbook. It is a fairly comprehensive booklet which explains the steps to take in setting up a safety program, contains an extensive series of checklists on everything from sanitizing clothes to hazardous chemical use, and lists the applicable regulations and local addresses for OSHA offices. Beware though, this is a 74 page, 76MB document which takes a very long time to download (it took me over half an hour to download this using my 28K modem)

CDC publication courtesy of Michigan State University

CDC’s disease information page. Lots of zooonotic disease information here. Many home pages hotlink this site.

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Public Home Page. Includes a hotlink to a compete list of publications by NIOSH, e.g. on individual hazardous substances—some of which are available to download as PDF files. However be prepared for a very long wait as the document file is incredibly slow to load and reload. Actually this whole site is tediously slow

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Dept. of Labor Home Page.

UC Davis Occupational Health Program site. Extensive and nicely organized pages encompassing the UC Davis Occupational Health Program, an animal contact medical review form to download, notes about protective practices, and extensive information and links on zoonotic diseases.

Occupational Health Program for Animal Handlers, Univ. of Michigan. Narrative, table of occupation assigned a risk categorization A through E, FAQ section, Table summarizing different occupational health program for different risk categories.

Environmental Health and Safety Office UC Santa Barbara

University of CA Santa Barbara narrative on safety in the biomedical laboratory.

UC Santa Barbara – zoonoses categorized by animal host

Q-Fever policy from U of FL

OSH web – list of safety sites on web divided into different categories, such as radiation safety, listservs, chemical safety, fire safety, etc.

List of safety related sites on the WWW

List of environmental health and safety sites on the WWW.

Q-Fever policy from U of FL

NIH "Guidelines for Research involving Recombinant DNA molecules," April 1998. An extensive document which covers risk assessment, experiments covered, responsibilities, containment strategies, and advice on writing an NIH protocol.

PDF file FDA ruling on extralabel drug use

List of free sites on the WWW for MSDS listings

University of Vermont search engine for MSDS – personally I like this one the best, although it reportedly has fewer listings than the Cornell database (below). When searching for simple words, such as ‘Formalin’ or ‘xylene’ it produced a list of the single compounds instead of an assorted list of other things containing the words formalin or xylene.

Material Safety Data Sheets search engine, Cornell. Extensive listing.

This area has been covered in another presentation, but would normally be included in the IACUC semiannual program review. Here are a couple of interesting resources I found in my travels.

FDA amendment to the Good Laboratory Practice Regulations discouraging toe clipping.

More extensive guidelines for post-procedural care and monitoring

General narrative on anesthesia - Univ of CA Santa Barbara, dosage lists for rodents and rabbits

U of Iowa anesthetic monitoring

AVMA Guidelines for monitoring anesthetized patients

Report of the 1993 AVMA Panel on Euthanasia posted on the AWIC site.

U of Colorado extensive page on euthanasia, including summary of Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia, and tables of acceptable methods by species, and drug dosages.

Rutgers - extensive discussion and recommendations for euthanasia

Univ. of Iowa animal care unit guidelines for euthanasia, including a table of methods for various species. Useful reference page for those developing their own resources.