Until 2001 it was maintained by US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a freely available publication.
RTECS was an activity mandated by the US Congress, established by Section 20(a)(6) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (PL 91-596).
[2] The original edition, known as the Toxic Substances List was published on June 28, 1971, and included toxicological data for approximately 5,000 chemicals.
RTECS is available in English, French and Spanish language versions, offered by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
The database is also available online from NISC (National Information Services Corporation, RightAnswer.com, and ToxPlanet (Timberlake Ventures, Inc)).