Today i was delighted to be part of an important work group to discuss the role of ‘omics data in assessing adverse effects of chemicals in the environment. The current approach to assessing adverse effects of chemicals in the environment is largely based on a battery of in-vivo study methods and a limited number of accepted in-silico approaches. For most substances the pool of data from which to predict ecosystem effects is limited and often only short term data are available. The EC Scientific Committee Consultation paper ‘Addressing the New Challenges for Risk Assessment’ (2012) highlights some of the main deficiencies of current risk assessment approaches.
Image from Madden et al 2014
The workgroup brought together experts from the academic, industry and regulatory authority communities to discuss and define the role of ‘omics’ techniques as part of the AOP framework to support environmental risk assessment of chemicals, especially those used in consumer products.
It was a very busy day with much discussion with great people and the production of a large body of collaborated knowledge. We hope this will be converted in to a short review on the future of the AOP framework. watch this space!