The OECD Harmonised Templates (OHTs) are standard data formats for reporting information used for the risk assessment of chemicals, mainly studies done on chemicals to determine their properties or effects on human health and the environment, but also for storing data on use and exposure. They are aimed at developers of database systems, as they prescribe the formats by which information can be entered into and maintained in a database. By using these templates, governments and industry are easily able to electronically exchange test study summary information.
The templates can be used to report summary test results for any type of chemical (e.g., pesticides, biocides, industrial chemicals, food/feed additives). The OECD Harmonised Templates cover endpoints and reporting elements which are grouped as follows:
| Physico-chemical properties (incl. nanomaterials) | - OHTs 1 to 23-5 & 101 to 113 |
| Environmental fate and behaviour | - OHTs 24 to 40 & 401 |
| Effects on biotic systems | - OHTs 41 to 57 |
| Health effects | - OHTs 58 to 84 & 86 |
| Pesticide residue chemistry | - OHTs 85-1 to 85-10 |
| Analytical methods | - OHT 87 |
| Efficacy | - OHTs 88 & 89 |
| Emissions from treated articles | - OHT 90 |
| Intermediate effects | - OHT 201 |
| Use and exposure information | - OHTs 301 to 306 |
| Generic elements for all OHTs |
- Literature reference - Test material information - Reference substance - Chemical inventory |
Each Template is accessible online in readable format (.doc file), with associated html schema (.xsd file), and with predefined tables and executive summaries (.html files) as available. The links to corresponding OECD Test Guidelines are given where applicable.
All OHT materials can also be downloaded at once from a single zip file which collates the 130 OECD Harmonised Templates and their related materials.
For more information and technical details on Templates see : Introduction; Format and conventions used
WHAT'S NEW
Six revised Templates and three new predefined tables now available online (December 2022)
Six OHTs were revised to cover new/updated OECD Test Guidelines issued in June 2021 (41 and 48-2 from the Effects on Biotic Systems Series; 66-1 and 66-3 from the Health Effects Series; 85-5 from the Pesticide Residue Chemistry Series; 201 from the Intermediate Effects Series). In addition, for OHT 41, three new predefined tables were added to the set of existing ones.