The ISS National Inventory of Chemical Substances (INSC).

The INSC (Inventario Nazionale delle Sostanze Chimiche), a factual data bank, produced by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), consists of an electronic tool on chemical information developed for routine and emergency purposes. Historical background, current status and future perspectives of INSC are discussed. The structure and the feature of INSC are briefly examined. Aspects of information retrieval and the criteria for inclusion of data and priority selection are also considered.