To perform a simple search, please select one of the options on the Search page: choose "Processes", "Elementary Flows" or "Impact Assessment Methods" by marking the appropriate radio button.
Enter a search string in the field below. The search string can be a word or part of a word. To start the search click on the button "Search for".
The search routine tries to identify the search string in the name of the datasets- both the main English name and localised (i.e translated) name - as well as in the list of synonyms. If "Impact Assessment Methods" has been selected the categories/subcategories will be searched additionally. The results matching the search string will be displayed and can be selected for download (members only). "No processes found", "no elementary flows found" or "no impact assessment methods found" indicates that no datasets match the search query.
In this case, please modify the search string.
If you are looking for availability of datasets for a certain area, a search by categories might be more convenient. The hierarchically structured directory of categories can be browsed for datasets.
Next to "List categories" on the Search page click on one of the links "Processes", "Elementary Flows" or "Impact Assessment Methods" to display all available categories for the selected type.
Click on one of the categories to display the subcategories available in the category. The datasets contained in the category / subcategory will be displayed and can be selected for download (members only). "No processes found", "no elementary flows found" or "no impact assessment methods found" indicates that no datasets were found in the selected category.
The following fields permit to further specify the query by adding additional search criteria to further reduce the number of search results. Search criteria can be entered in one or more fields. Please mind that all criteria have to be matched and that therefore too many or conflicting entries in the search fields might lead to an empty result list.
Click on the link "Advanced search" on the Search page to perform an advanced search.
First, choose if you want to search for "Processes", "Elementary Flows" or "Impact Assessment Methods" by marking the appropriate button.
After having entered specific search criteria, launch the search by clicking the button "Search dataset". The search results can be sorted alphabetically by selecting the option "by name" or "by category". The default setting is "by category".
Process Name
Enter a search token (word, word fragment, string), that has to be part of the dataset name. One or more search tokens can be combined using the expressions AND or OR.
A search token may contain "%" as wildcard. The "%" wildcard will be added automatically at the end of a search token.
When setting the option "Case-sensitive" the search term must match upper and lowercase in the dataset name exactly.
CAS Number
Here you can enter the CAS number ("Chemical Abstracts Service") of a substance (toxic substance or chemical product), which is contained in a process. CAS numbers are made up by numbers separated by hyphens. They can contain nine digits. The hyphen sign has to be entered in the search field too.
Example: "58-08-2" (caffeine). Please note: Not all processes contain CAS numbers!
The CAS registry number is a unique identifier for substances. Learn more about CAS on their website or in their webbook.
Formulas
Enter a search string which has to be contained in a chemical formula of a hazardous substance or a chemical product. Avoid any spaces in the search string and do not try use subscript. Simply type the formula with its letters and numbers. Brackets are permitted.
You can also search for fragments of a chemical formula. Please keep in mind that some datasets do not contain a formula.
Example: Type "C2H3F" to search for the chemical formula "C2 H3 F" (vinyl fluoride).
Recorded by
You can limit the search range by selecting the acronym of a specific institution. Only those datasets which were added to the database by this institution will be shown as result.
Categories & Subcategories
Click on the button "Select categories" to enter one or more category names in the "Category" search field. Additionally you can click on the button "Select subcategories" to enter one or more subcategory names in the "Subcategory" search field.
If a category has been selected, only the subcategories of the selected category will be displayed when clicking on the button "Select subcategories". In the same way, if a subcategory has been selected in the first place, only the categories which contain the subcategory will be displayed when clicking on the button "Select categories".