ECETOC at a glance

Established in 1978, ECETOC is Europe’s leading industry association for developing and promoting top quality science in human and environmental risk assessment of chemicals.  Members include the main companies with interests in the manufacture and use of chemicals, biomaterials and pharmaceuticals, and organisations active in these fields.  ECETOC is the scientific forum where member company experts meet and co-operate with government and academic scientists, to evaluate and assess the available data, identify gaps in knowledge and recommend research, and publish critical reviews on the ecotoxicology and toxicology of chemicals, biomaterials and pharmaceuticals.

ECETOC also provides scientific representation for its member companies through presentations at specialist meetings and by participation in the scientific activities of international agencies, government authorities and professional societies.  A non-profit, non-commercial and non-governmental organisation, ECETOC prides itself on the objectivity and integrity of its work programme, the output of which is published in the form of peer-reviewed reports and articles in peer-reviewed journals, or as specialised workshops.

Read in more detail here.

Quicklinks to popular pages on this website

Areas:

• Health Sciences
• Environmental Sciences
• Chemicals Programme

Activities:

• TASK FORCES
• WORKSHOPS
• Symposia and other meetings
• Supporting the Cefic LRI
• EUROECOTOX (external website)

Download our latest publications

General information:

• ECETOC e-newsletter no.24: April 2013
• Publications catalogue, April 2013
• 2011 Annual Report
• Membership benefits: increase the impact of your science
• ECETOC code of practice

Recent Scientific Reports:

• Technical Report No. 119: Evaluation of Systemic Health Effects Following Dermal Exposure to Chemicals
• Technical Report No. 116: Category approaches, read-across, (Q)SAR
• Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Package of ECETOC publications
• Kleinjans J, Brunborg G, eds. 2012. Use of 'Omics to Elucidate Mechanism of Action and Integration of 'Omics in a Systems Biology Concept. Mutation Research - Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis 476(2) Doi: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2012.04.004
• Article: Bars R, Fegert I, Gross M, Lewis D, Weltje L, Weyers A, Wheeler JR, Galay-Burgos M. 2012.
  Risk assessment of endocrine active chemicals: Identifying chemicals of regulatory concern.
  Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. 64(1):143-154 Doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2012.06.013
• Technical Report No. 115: Effects of Chemical Co-exposures at Doses Relevant for Human Safety Assessments (Published July 2012)
• Technical Report No. 115 - Appendix B:  Evaluation of primary references considered relevant for this report
• Technical Report No. 114: ECETOC TRA version 3: Background and Rationale for the Improvements (Published July 2012)
• Workshop Report No. 23: Epigenetics and chemical safety (Published May 2012)
• Article: Hennes EC. 2012. An overview of values for the threshold of toxicological concern. Toxicology Letters 211(3):296–303 doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2012.03.795
• Article: Hennes EC, Galay Burgos M, Hamer M, Pemberton M, Travis K, Rodriguez C. 2012. Workshop: Combined exposure to chemicals. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 63:53-54. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2012.02.008
• JACC Report No. 55: Linear Polydimethylsiloxanes (Published December 2011)

ECETOC’s approach

ECETOC believes that by identifying developing issues at their nascence, the chemicals industry will be better placed to undertake the appropriate scientific initiatives. An over-arching science strategy serves to guide ECETOC’s science programme and uses an issues, rather than activity-based approach.

What does it involve?

Presence of chemicals in humans.

	Chemicals in human tissue Objective: Ensure that the results of biomonitoring studies are placed into appropriate context within risk assessment to human health.
	Mixtures and co-exposure Objective: Contribute to the development of a pragmatic, realistic, and science-based framework for the risk assessment of chemical mixtures.

Presence of chemicals in the environment

Assessment of environmental fate and behaviour Objective: Develop the understanding of environmental processes that drive the fate and behaviour of chemicals and the role of these processes in risk assessment.

Effects in humans and ecosystems

	Reproductive health Objective: Ensure that the methods and the testing strategy to identify and characterise developmental and reproductive toxicants are appropriate and optimised.
	Biodiversity and ecosystems Objective: Identify the key science issues relevant to risk assessment of chemicals in the environment in a way that is relevant to the potential impact on biodiversity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Methods

	Integrated testing strategies Objective: Contribute to a more effective approach to hazard and risk assessment. This should also support the further development and application of alternative approaches to hazard assessment, and thereby improve the workability of REACH. Good ITS approaches can reduce cost and use of animals while providing best quality data for the risk assessment process.
	Risk assessment of nanomaterials Objective: Develop a series of approaches for addressing health and environmental effects of nanomaterials.

Science of risk assessment

	Role of chemicals in the causality of disease Objective: Put the presumed associations between chemicals in the environment and disease into their proper scientific perspective. The focus is particularly directed towards rigorous methodology in observational epidemiology.
	Risk, hazard and precaution Objective: Take into account all available scientific tools to adequately characterise risk not only based on hazard characteristics but also on exposure data and dose-response considerations.
	Science in society Objective: Improve public confidence in the science of risk assessment and to promote its use in public policy actions. This includes the need to counter the perceptions of bias, vested interest and lack of quality assurance of industry generated data.

 

Health Sciences

Health Sciences Manager Dr. Christa Hennes

Environmental Sciences

Environmental Sciences Manager Dr. Malyka Galay Burgos

As the Environmental Sciences Manager within the secretariat of ECETOC, most of Malyka's work focuses on the current risk assessment and scientific criteria for the limits on the release of chemicals into the environment and the possible effects on human health: multiple stressors, chemical mixture assessment, laboratory to field assessment, structure-activity relationships; mechanisms of exposure and toxicity; sediment and water toxicity, methods and evaluation; risk and hazard assessment; biomarkers; mode of action of metal and xenobiotics; toxicokinetics; factors that modify toxicity; biomonitoring.

For this, she also seeks ways to support the further development and application of alternative approaches to hazard assessment and thereby improve the workability of REACH and good Integrated Testing Strategy (ITS) approaches that reduce costs and the use of animals while providing best quality data for the risk assessment process.

Some of her interests are in strengthening risk assessment through an evolving systems toxicology approach, utilising an understanding of chemical - biological interactions across natural compounds, emerging contaminants and potentially novel marine biotechnologies.

Task Forces

Current

• Development of interim guidance for the inclusion of non-extractable residues (NER) in the risk assessment of chemicals
• Exploring novel ways of using SSD to establish PNECs for industrial chemicals
• Guidance on interpreting endocrine disrupting effects
• Targeted risk assessment
• The application of critical body burden in risk assessment
• Understanding the relationship between extraction technique and bioavailability

Recently completed

• Development of guidance for assessing the impact of mixtures of chemicals in the aquatic environment
• Risk assessment approaches for PBT/vPvB or POPs

Workshops, symposia and other meetings

Upcoming:

• 07-08 February 2013: 2013 Environment Progress Review, Brussels, Belgium
• 25 February 2013: ‘Omics and Risk Assessment Science, Málaga, Spain
• May 2013: Species sensitivity distribution, Edinburgh, Scotland (in preparation)

Recent:

• 6 November 2012: Assessing Environmental Persistence, Paris, France
• 03-May-2012: Targeted risk assesment version 3 workshop, Brussels, Belgium
• 28/29-Feb-2012: Environment Progress Review, Brussels, Belgium
• 05/06-Dec-2011: Epigenetics and chemical safety, Rome, Italy
• 11/12-Jul-2011: Combined exposure to chemicals, Berlin, Germany
• 09-May-2011: Risk Assessment of endocrine disrupting chemicals, Firenze, Italy
• 27/28-Jan-2011: 2011 Environment work programme progress review scoping meeting, Brussels, Belgium
• 22/23-Feb-2010: 'Omics in (Eco)toxicology: case studies and risk assessment, Malaga, Spain
• 14/15-Oct-2009: Significance of bound residues in environmental risk assessment, Brussels, Belgium
• 29/30-Jun-2009: Guidance on identifying endocrine disrupting effects, Barcelona, Spain
• 15-May-2009: Targeted risk assessment (TRA) non-member workshop, Brussels, Belgium
• 06-Mar-2009: Pharmaceuticals and the environment scoping meeting, Brussels, Belgium
• 26-Feb-2009: Targeted risk assessment members workshop, Brussels, Belgium

EUROECOTOX Network:

• http://www.euroecotox.eu/

Targeted risk assessment (TRA) tools

• 03-May-12: TRAv3 Workshop, Brussels, Belgium
• Development of version 3 of the TRA Tool
• Targeted Risk Assessment (TRA) Tools - home page
• Targeted risk assessment (TRA) non-member workshop May 2009, Brussels
• Targeted risk assessment members workshop February 2009, Brussels
• Targeted risk assessment task force

Supporting the Cefic-LRI

• Environment Monitoring Team (EMT) (Click for more details on the Cefic-LRI projects)

Latest publications

• Weltje L, Wheeler JR, Weyers A, Galay-Burgos M. 2013. Refinement of the ECETOC approach to identify endocrine disrupting properties of chemicals in ecotoxicology. Toxicology Letters Special Issue. (In Press)
• Fegert I. 2013. ECETOC Firenze workshop on risk assessment of endocrine substances, including the potency concept. Toxicology Letters Special Issue. (In Press)
• Lewis RW. 2013.  Risk assessment of ‘Endocrine Substances: Guidance on Identifying Endocrine Disruptors. Toxicology Letters Special Issue. (In Press)
• Technical Report No. 120: The application of critical body burden in risk assessment (In Press)
• Workshop Report No. 24: Assessing Environmental Persistence 6-7 November 2012, Paris (In Press)
• Technical Report No. 118: Development of interim guidance for the inclusion of non-extractable residues (NER) in the risk assessment of chemicals (In Press)
• Technical Report No. 117: Understanding the relationship between extraction technique and bioavailability (In Press)
• Package of ECETOC publications on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
• Bars R, Fegert I, Gross M, Lewis D, Weltje L, Weyers A, Wheeler JR, Galay-Burgos M. 2012. Risk assessment of endocrine active chemicals: Identifying chemicals of regulatory concern. Regul.Toxicology and Pharmacology. 64(1):143-154 Doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2012.06.013
• Hennes EC, Galay Burgos M, Hamer M, Pemberton M, Travis K, Rodriguez C. 2012. Workshop: Combined exposure to chemicals. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 63:53-54. Doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2012.02.008
• Technical Report No. 114: ECETOC TRA version 3: Background and Rationale for the Improvements (Published July 2012)
• Workshop Report No. 23: Epigenetics and Chemical Safety. 5-6 December 2011, Rome (Published May 2012)

• Workshop Report No.21: Risk Assessment of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. 9-10 May 2011, Florence (Published October 2011)

• Technical Report No.112: Refined Approaches for Risk Assessment of PBT/vPvB Chemicals (Published October 2011)

• Technical Report No.111: Development of guidance for assessing the impact of mixtures of chemicals in the aquatic environment (Published October 2011)

• Workshop Report No. 22: Workshop on Combined Exposure to Chemicals 11-12 July 2011, Berlin (Published October 2011)
• Bars R, Broeckaert F, Fegert I, Gross M, Hallmark N, Kedwards T, Lewis D, O’Hagan S, Panter G H, Weltje L, Weyers A, Wheeler J and Galay Burgos M. 2011. Corrigendum to “Science based guidance for the assessment of endocrine disrupting properties of chemicals”. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 60(3):411-412. Doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2011.04.005

• Article: Bars R, Broeckaert F, Fegert I, Gross M, Hallmark N, Kedwards T, Lewis D, Sue O'Hagan, Panter G H, Weltje L, Weyers A, Wheeler J R, Galay Burgos M. 2010. Science based guidance for the assessment of endocrine disrupting properties of chemicals. Regul.Toxicol.Pharmacol 59(1):37-46. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2010.09.003
  

• Workshop Report No. 19: ‘Omics in (Eco)toxicology: Case Studies and Risk Assessment.
  22-23 February 2010, Málaga (Published June 2010)

• Article: Embry MR, Belanger SE, Braunbeck TA, Galay Burgos M, Halder M, Hinton DE, Léonard MA, Lillicrap A, Norberg-King T, Whale G. 2010. The fish embryo toxicity test as an animal alternative method in hazard and risk assessment and scientific research. Aquatic Toxicology 97, Issue 2, 15 April 2010, Pages 79-87. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2009.12.008
  

• Workshop Report No. 17: Significance of Bound Residues in Environmental Risk Assessment.
  14-15 October 2009, Brussels (Published February 2010)

• Technical Report No. 108: Collation of Existing Marine Biodegradation Data and its Use in Environmental Risk Assessment (Published December 2009)
  (ECETOC Marine Biodegradation Kinetics database (EMBK) published on accompanying CD)

• Technical report No. 107: Addendum to ECETOC Targeted Risk assessment report No. 93 (Published December 2009)

• Workshop Report No. 16: Guidance on interpreting endocrine disrupting effects.
  29-30 June 2009, Barcelona (Published October 2009)

• Technical Report No. 106: Guidance on Identifying Endocrine Disrupting Effects
  (Published June 2009)

• Workshop Report No. 15: The Probabilistic Approaches for Marine Hazard Assessment.
  18-19 June 2008, Oslo (Published June 2009)

   

  To contact Malyka, please call: +32 2 675 36 00 or send an e-mail to: info@ecetoc.org

Chemicals Programme

Chemicals Programme Manager lr. Henk Vrijhof

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