Assigning Chemical Abstracts Service registry number [CAS#] Inventory 12 Database Systems
It is very important that all the Container IDs are assigned the proper CAS numbers in order for the database system to be efficient.
Step One: Sign In
Log into Inventory 12 with your username, and password. Your username is the PI’s last name and first initial. If you have any issues with you log in information please contact Jocelyn Locke at 7-7650.
This page will be displayed:

Step Two: Chemical List of Interest
Navigate the left column of folders to navigate to your laboratory.
Building à Principal Investigator àLab Room NumberàLocation. Click on the + sign to navigate to subfolders of chemicals at that location. As shown below:

Step Three: Analysis of Chemical Name and assigned CAS#
You may notice that some of the chemicals that are listed have automatically been assigned an CAS# (as seen in above example, Sodium Hydroxide). The database is designed to automatically assign CAS#, but this only works if the Name is identical to the Substance name that is stored in the database. It is important to check the accuracy of the assigned CAS# to each of the chemicals listed in your inventory. This is especially of high priority if the Chemical Inventory that was submitted to Environmental Health and Safety previously containing CAS#s for individual chemicals.
Using the search function on a website such as http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/united-states.html ; is a great way to authenticate the chemical/CAS. Ensure that the chemical that you have matches the description of the product described on the website.
Please note that the Product Number and the CAS Number are not the same for chemicals. Assigning product numbers in place of CAS#s will lead to discrepancies in the database, and MSDS documents will not be assigned.
Step Four: Editing the Container

1.  Right Click: on the chemical that you are going to assign or change CAS # for, then click on the tab that says “Edit Container”. This will bring you to a screen that looks like the
one below.

2.  This screen and the tabs that are located on the top row will allow you to change/update information concerning the specific container. The font that is in “blue” are required fields.

3.  Click “Select Substance…”

4.  In the top left-hand corner you will see two values in which you can select. The first which is bubbled in by default is Inventory. When this is selected the search of your “chemical if interest” will be done within the database here at USC.
Enter the “Substance” at a minimum, if the search does not yield any results then attempt using the “CAS Registry#”, or both.

5.  It is recommended that you perform this search first in the Inventory Database due to its higher rate of speed. For now we will continue to move through the process as if your chemical in located in the USC database. If your chemical is not found, please proceed to step 8.

6.  The search resulted in 29 chemicals within the USC database that matched the criteria set. In this example all the chemicals have been assigned CAS#s. [This may not be the case, if so: please proceed to step 8]. It is only important that ONE of the chemicals yielded from the search has the correct substance and CAS#. You then “click” on that substance and click select. Make sure to check the Substance thoroughly to ensure accuracy. Next click “ok”


7.  Sodium Chloride has now been assigned CAS #.

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8.  Select the database titles “ChemACX”. This search of the ChemACX database is the most accurate when the CAS# is searched. The CAS# should be located on all chemical containers but it may be easier to search the web. Using the search function on a website such as http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/united-states.html ; is a great way to determine the CAS# of your substance.
On the left is an example where only the substance name was searched: Acetonitrile. This search yielded over 50 hits.
On the right it an example where the substances CAS# was searched: 75-05-8
This search yielded only 5 hits, and proves to be a more accurate method.


9.  Now, select the chemical and proceed


10.  You may find that the chemical is already in the Inventory System. In this case DO NOT create a duplicate. Instead, click on “select” in the bottom left hand corner.

Scenarios where adding a CAS # may not be possible:
1. Some chemicals are not considered to be a threat, and do not possess a CAS#

2. Solutions or mixtures containing more than one chemical. While one or more of these chemicals may have an individual CAS#s the combination does not have a single one assigned. The database does not allow for multiple CAS#s to be assigned