A video documentary in four parts, based on interviews
with regulators, industry and QSAR developers.
News & Events
Practical use of the CAESAR models for legislative purposes.
Video Documentary
QSARs in REACH? - Uses, issues and priorities
A video documentary in four parts, based on interviews with regulators, industry and QSAR developers.
Glossary
What we mean by...
Acute toxicity
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the harmful effects of a chemical that result from a single or short-term exposure.
Alternative methods
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methods for testing toxicity which can (i) replace animal testing or (ii) reduce it or (iii) refine it to reduce animal suffering (the ‘three Rs’).
Chemicals
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substances either occurring naturally or purified or manufactured by industry, which can range from being harmless to being highly toxic. Some chemicals are the constituent parts of familiar things in our daily lives such as cleaning agents; others are used in agriculture and in the manufacture, packaging and distribution of daily objects from computer screens to medication.
Chronic toxicity
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the harmful effects of a chemical resulting from repeated exposures, often cumulatively over months or years, and often at lower levels.
Ecotoxicity
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the potential for a chemical to affect an ecosystem, such as by changing the natural biochemistry, physiology, behaviour and/or interactions of living organisms.
Endpoint
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a type of adverse effect, such as eye irritation, birth defects or cancer. Toxicity tests are carried out for specific chemicals (or groups of chemicals) in relation to specific endpoints.
QSAR
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the use of QSAR models is an important example of in silico methods. Quantitative Structure- Activity Relationship models correlate the properties and molecular structure of a chemical with its biological effect on human health and/or on relevant species in an ecosystem. The correlation can then be used in the prediction and assessment of new substances. QSAR / in silico methods are applicable to organic (carbon-based) compounds, not to inorganic substances.
REACH
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the European regulation for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It replaced nearly forty previous EU directives and regulations with a single regulation that makes manufacturers and importers responsible for registering chemicals with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), as well as for understanding and managing the risks associated with their use. REACH also aims to promote the use of existing data, and of alternative methods of assessment, such as QSAR methods.
Stakeholder
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professionals, organisations and citizens who are affected by an action or decision, and/or can affect it, and so have an interest or ‘stake’ in it. As citizens we are all stakeholders in chemical testing because we are affected by the quality of that testing. Regulators, researchers and users are particular kinds of stakeholders who may inform debate in the public interest or their institutional interest.
Toxicity
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the potential of a chemical substance to cause damage to humans and/or the environment.
Toxicology
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research and routine industry testing of the effects of substances on health and the environment at different doses and concentrations, traditionally by tests on animals.
