Science Strategy

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?

The premise of this strategy is that ECETOC plays an integral role in science in society. Its particular remit is to contribute objective scientific evidence to the debate about the role of chemicals in the causality of disease and assure the process of risk assessment of these chemicals.

It does so via the pursuit of the following five broad themes:

1. The presence of chemicals in humans
2. The presence of chemicals in the environment
3. Effects on humans and ecosystems
4. Methods
5. The science of risk assessment.

This science strategy is also used as a basis for working with other stakeholders, such as academia, regulators, associations and international institutions to ensure that objective scientific evidence is used to provide the highest quality risk assessment of chemical products that minimises wherever possible the use of animals in testing.

Within the framework of the aforementioned five themes, ECETOC pursues the following thirteen strategic science areas.

1 - Chemicals in humans.

	Presence of chemicals in human tissue The main objective of this strategic science area is to ensure that the results of biomonitoring studies are placed into appropriate context within risk assessment to human health.
	Chemicals in indoor air The aim is to address approaches to assess the impact of chemicals found in indoor air on human health.
	Mixtures ECETOC will contribute to the development of a pragmatic, realistic, and science-based framework for the risk assessment of chemical mixtures.

2 - Presence of chemicals in the environment

Exposure pathways The overall aim of the strategic science area is to achieve recognition by regulators and non-governmental organisations that decisions on the acceptability of the presence of chemicals in the environment require a risk assessment involving both their hazardous concentrations and exposure concentrations.

3- Effects on humans and ecosystems

	Sensitive sub-populations Certain sub-populations, notably children, may be assumed to be more sensitive than healthy adults. The overall aim of this strategic science area is to provide a focused scientific opinion for regulatory decision making that is targeted at or affects sensitive sub-populations. Currently, this area comprises mainly children's health outcomes. In the future, it may also address the sub-population of the elderly.
	Reproductive health In the public debate, the topic ‘reproductive health' is often associated with exposure to chemicals. The overall aim of this strategic science area is to ensure that the methods and the testing strategy to identify and characterise developmental and reproductive toxicants are appropriate and optimised.
	Biodiversity and ecosystems ECETOC will seek to identify and react to key science issues relevant to global regulatory assessments of chemical impacts on biodiversity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

4 - Methods

	Intelligent/integrated testing strategies (ITS) The overall aim for this strategic science area is to contribute to a more effective approach to hazard and risk assessment. This should also support the further development and application of alternative approaches to animal testing, 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.
	''Omics' and related technologies' The emerging technologies of genomics, proteomics and metabonomics are already available for hazard if not risk evaluation. This area requires industry involvement to ensure that these technologies are used in an appropriate manner and exploited to their full potential.
	Risk assessment of innovation The purpose of this strategic science area is to evaluate and develop approaches for addressing the health and environmental risk assessment for innovative products. At present, activities are focussed on potential health impacts and environmental effects of nanomaterials.

5 - Science of risk assessment

	Role of chemicals in the causality of disease This strategic science area aims to put the presumed associations between chemicals in the environment and disease into its proper scientific perspective. The focus is particularly directed towards rigorous methodology in observational epidemiology.
	Risk, hazard and precaution The precautionary principle can lead to unrealistic worst case assumptions based on an evaluation of hazard. The view to be promoted with activities under this strategic science area is to take into account all available scientific tools to adequately characterise risk not only based on hazard characteristics but also based on exposure data and dose-response considerations.
	Science in society The overall aim of the strategic science area is to better promote the use of science in EU decision making, to improve the image of industry science with EU policymakers and other scientists, and to enhance the acceptance of science by the general public.