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. 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. Currently, Cornell limits archive retrieval to the Cornell community, so public access to the Archives from their list server is not available.
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.
This archive includes all DCHAS-L posts from January 14, 2003 to present. 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from exceedingly wise individuals who are no longer with us, specific regulatory information/opinions may be outdated.
DCHAS-L is the e-mail list of the Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society. In addition to sharing news items relevant to chemical health and safety, it is intended to facilitate the conduct of division business and provide the opportunity for members ask other members technical questions. To send e-mail to the Division's membership (about 2,000 chemical health and safety professionals), use the DCHAS-L(@ symbol goes here)princeton.edu address. List traffic is capped at 15 messages/day and averages about 20 messages/week.
List membership is for division members and, on a six month trial basis, non-members interested in divisional activities. This list is moderated to ensure that discussions do not stray from these intended purposes, but no technical review of the material on the list should be inferred from this editorial process.
As this list is a public activity of the Division of Chemical Health and Safety, we expect that list discussions will be conducted in a professional tone. Information presented on the list is provided by the person writing the e-mail based solely on the information given in the question they are responding to. For this reason, e-mail list postings should not be considered professional advice, but rather helpful hints on issues to consider in addressing the question.
In this context, people who respond to a listserv posting should think carefully about what they write and what the impact might be if their words are taken out of context. While all are encouraged to have a free exchange of information, those who participate in these discussions have a responsibility to consider the impact of their response. We expect that list discussions will be conducted in a professional tone. (For more information about this expectation, see this article from Purdue's Online Writing Lab https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/tone_in_business_writing.html).
The list is managed by Divisional Membership Committee Chair, Ralph Stuart at membership(@ symbol here)dchas.org . List traffic can be as high as 15 messages/day. If you prefer to receive all of the day's postings in a single e-mail, you can sign up for the DIGEST format. Contact Ralph for assistance with this.
For more information about how you can get involved in the Division's activities, consult our web page at http://dchas.org/welcome/volunteer-opportunities-in-dchas-2/