Staged assessment: Exemplify the staged assessment process by using it to provide more information in low tonnage bands
Why
The current paradigm for identifying data (study) requirements is based upon a surrogate of exposure, namely production volume, which may under or overestimate real exposure. As presented in Botham P., et al. (2023) a new approach can offer the potential to provide a fuller assessment of low tonnage chemicals by incorporating NAMs in a staged tier approach.
This Task Force is part of the ECETOC Transformational Programme No. 2 ‘Development of an Integrated Approach for Chemicals Assessment’, in which a staged assessment concept has been developed. This Task Force will evaluate the staged assessment concept by examining how the approach could be used to increase the level of knowledge for substances in lower tonnage bands.
Objectives
- Hazard identification/characterization with a defendable level of confidence, that could be applied to classification and risk assessment
- Provision of fuller assessment of Tonnage bands: < 100 tpa and for assessment of impurities.
Assessment of weight of evidence methodology - Assessment of how the current classification scheme can be modifies to accommodate the use of NAMs
- Develop a staged evaluation protocol
Timeline and Deliverables
Work started in 2023, currently the TF is taking part in EPAA NAMs designathon and is expecting a peer-reviewed paper for Q2 2025.