Chemical reaction database in danger of closing down

The Chemical Safety Library (CSL), a public database of hazardous chemical reactions launched in March 2017, is struggling to stay afloat and seeking partners to help it keep going.

The CSL was set-up by the US non-profit Pistoia Alliance and is a place for researchers to share and check important lab safety information, with the aim of preventing repeat chemical incidents. However, the project has met significant resistance almost since its inception. Some industry representatives worried that their chemical reactions constitute trade secrets that need to be protected rather than publicised, and some in academia and elsewhere were concerned about the possible legal repercussions of admitting to mistakes in the lab.