Contact: Scott Jensen, (202) 249-6511
Email:
[email protected]
WASHINGTON (Dec. 17, 2013)
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released data on about 1,800 chemicals generated under the Agency's ToxCast™ research program today. This program is pioneering the use of advanced 21st century high throughput screening methods to quantify and characterize molecular and cellular responses to chemicals.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) issued the following statement in response:
"ACC supports the
ToxCast program
and its twin goals-more efficient generation of data on chemicals and helping minimize the need for animal testing.
"Clearly, today's release of the ToxCast data indicates that significant progress has been made toward these goals. We must recognize, however, the current limitations of ToxCast data, which reflect only biochemical interactions, responses in isolated cells or novel lower animal models and do not provide actual hazard or risk information. More rigorous science is needed to establish the degree of scientific confidence required before ToxCast can be relied upon to support product safety determinations for specific regulatory purposes.
"To help establish this degree of scientific confidence, ACC and its
members
are at the forefront of working to develop risk-based tools through ACC's
Long-Range Research Initiative
to enable ToxCast and similar data to be interpreted in the context of human exposures."