If you are interested in worker safety, there is an important resource you should know about. It is a computer maintained by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). So far, it is NOT available to the general public, but we believe that you should know about its existence anyway. Who knows--maybe you'll find a sympathetic person in your state OSHA program who will gain access to the system on your behalf, unbeknownst to the Reagan Administration. The system is called OCIS and it contains a wealth of useful data; in future, it will become even more valuable.

The OSHA Computerized Information System (OCIS) is designed to aid OSHA, State OSHA Program, and OSHA Area Office staff in responding to employers' and employees' occupational safety and health problems by maintaining quick access to various computerized information files. OCIS files are maintained on a Digital Vax 11/750 computer at the Salt Lake City Laboratory; BASIS is the database management software; the system is accessed from OSHA and State Program offices only; files are menu-driven; and new capabilities are under development.

Current OCIS files include: Chemical Information File; Standards Interpretations File; SIC I.H. File; Hazard Abatement File; Safety Science Abstracts; Regional Libraries File; Hazard Waste Site File; FEDERAL REGISTER Reference File; Methods File; and Memorandums of Understanding/Speeches. Scheduled to be added in 1986 are: Fatalities/Catastrophe File; Training Materials File; 5(a)(1) Citation File; Material Safety Data Sheets File; SLCAL Laboratory Sampling Results File; and Computers Questions and Answers Bulletin Board.

Questions and comments about OCIS can be directed to the OCIS Help Desk at (801) 524-5366 or 524-5896, or to FTS (federal telephone system) 588-5366 or 588-5896.
--Peter Montague, Ph.D.

Descriptor terms: occupational safety and health; osha; osha computerized information systems; ocis; information services; databases;