=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #17
—March 23, 1987—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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OSHA COMPUTER CONTAINS WEALTH OF DATA ON JOB SAFETY, HEALTH.
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;