About This Archive | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | DCHAS-L Home Page
This section of the ILPI web site is a repository for over 28,000 archived emails from the American Chemical Society's Division of Chemical Health & Safety email discussion list, DCHAS-L, from January 14, 2003 to present.
Over the years, the DCHAS-L list and archives have been hosted at several universities. In 2003, the list moved from Southern Illinois University to the University of Vermont and in late 2011 it moved to Cornell University. This was later followed by a move to Princeton University in 2016. In all cases, the archives were tied to the host university's systems and software architectures which meant that when the list moved from one school to another the archive access was lost.
In January of 2012, DCHAS member Rob Toreki took on the task of converting the accumulated raw archive files into a form that is software and site-independent. The essentially unreadable bulk archive files were broken into over 6,100 individual HTML files each of which contains a single posting. He then added navigational controls, installed master indices by year, made the archive keyword searchable, and created a mechanism by which new posts to the list appear in the archive in near-real time. Maintenance and hosting of this archive is generously provided by Rob's company, Safety Emporium, a division of ILPI.
In June of 2026, Rob completely recoded this archive, breaking each post down into its component metadata for storage in an SQL database, enabling powerful new ways of displaying, recalling, and manipulating the data. Some examples of this include threaded indexing for posts since 2022 as well as author indices, statistics, and leaderboards for all years.
The reader should approach old posts with caution - while some contain timeless nuggets of information from exceedingly wise individuals who are no longer with us, specific regulatory information/opinions may be outdated. In addition, this is a community discussion, so posts reflect opinions and statements that may be wrong or even dangerous, so use due diligence in relying on any information
To sign up for the list or adjust your list preferences, contact the DCHAS Membership Chair at membership@dchas.org.
This archive is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Stuart, without whom these invaluable posts would have been forever lost.