The Committee on Toxicity (COT), one of the independent committees that advise the Agency, has just issued a statement on evolving approaches to chemical risk assessment.
It's based on a workshop the committee held on these new approaches, which was attended by many expert scientists.
Members of the committee were keen to consider using new approaches in their risk assessments and the statement discusses how these ideas may be taken forward.
Many of the discussion topics were chosen in light of COT's recent review of variability and uncertainty in toxicology. I've blogged on this before.
Presentations covered how detailed mathematical models can be used to assess the risks posed by chemicals, methods for assessing and describing uncertainty in risk assessments, and ways to make the risk assessment process more transparent.
Given that the COT plays a pivotal role in advising the FSA and other government departments on potential risks to human health of chemicals, I'm delighted to see the committee's enthusiasm in reviewing and improving the way it conducts its risk assessments, so as to make use of the most up-to-date scientific thinking.
