In a Baylor University study, environmental researchers
have proposed a different approach to predict the environmental safety of
chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals.
For many chemicals in use every day, scientists do not have enough
information to understand all of the effects on the environment and human
health. In response to this, the European Union enacted the REACH regulation,
which places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risks from
chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. The
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances
(REACH) regulation was enacted in 2006 and requires manufacturers and importers
to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances and to
register the information in a central database. Regulators say the goal of
REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through
better and earlier identification of the harmful properties of chemical substances.
In the Baylor study, researchers suggest using data from other chemicals,
such as what concentrations can cause toxicity in aquatic organisms to predict
the toxicity of another chemical that scientists expect causes toxicity in the
same way.
“This study proposes one approach to advance the three R’s of
sustainability—reduce, replace, refine—for studying biological impacts of chemicals
in the environment,” says study co-author Bryan Brooks, associate
professor of environmental science and biomedical studies and director of
environmental health science at Baylor. “Identifying, testing, and
implementing new approaches to leverage available information to support better
environmental decision-making remains a critical need around the world.”
Baylor researchers used statistical and mathematical techniques called
chemical toxicity distributions to understand the relative potency of two
groups of chemicals. They then used these findings to develop environmental
safety values, which they hope will help determine the environmental impacts of
chemical substances without unnecessary testing on animals.
“The biggest hurdle we face when protecting public health and the
environment is the general lack of information,” says study co-author Spencer
Williams, a research scientist at Baylor. “The approach we propose should
help prioritize the selection of chemicals and organisms for additional safety
assessments. Instead of having to test similar chemicals on many organisms over
and over again, scientists could estimate safety levels using fewer tests,
which could be more efficient without compromising environmental safety.”
The study appears online in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
