- Examining adverse effects of individual BPA alternatives and realistic chemical mixtures on diverse groups of organisms.
- Creating advanced prediction tools, invertebrate models and alternative vertebrate aquatic models to predict the hazards of BPA alternatives.
- Supporting European regulations by addressing current data gaps and providing tools to improve the safety assessment of chemical alternatives.
Key messages
- Investigation of the potential adverse effects (e.g. apical endpoints such as mortality, effects related to the anticipated mode of action or MIE, effects on reproduction, effects on endocrine system) of certain individual substances and “real-life” mixtures of BPA alternatives on non-mammalian organisms belonging to different taxa
- The project is dedicated to developing innovative New Approach Methodologies (NAMs ↗) to identify chemical hazards with respect to the environment.
- The methods under development cover a wide range of taxa across the phylogenetic tree and address diverse endpoints and approaches.
Overview
Concerns about the harmful effects of bisphenol A (BPA) ↗, a chemical commonly used in plastics, and strict restrictions on its use in many countries have led to the development of alternative chemicals. These substitutions, known as BPA alternatives, are now emerging as environmental contaminants found across the globe in water, sediment, sludge, soil, indoor dust, and air. The upcoming opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA ↗), which recommends significantly reducing daily BPA exposure, is expected to increase the use of these alternatives further.
Many BPA alternatives share similar properties with BPA. They are often toxic to aquatic organisms, can disrupt endocrine ↗ (hormonal) systems, affect reproduction, metabolism, and immune systems, and may persist in the environment.
BPA alternatives are regulated under the European Union’s REACH ↗ framework, which governs the safe use of chemicals. However, the data required for assessing the safety of those alternatives vary depending on the production volume, and existing information is often insufficient to fully evaluate their potential risks to humans and the environment. The risks posed by exposure to mixtures of these chemicals ↗—common in real-world scenarios—are particularly underexplored, especially for long-term effects at environmentally realistic concentrations. This research project seeks to address these gaps by studying the potential harmful effects of BPA alternatives on various organisms. It will also develop new methods and tools for assessing these chemicals, with a focus on improving regulatory approaches and environmental safety.
Achievements & Results
Tests with individual compounds have been conducted, revealing that the toxicity of bisphenols varies, with some being more harmful than others. The observed effects are dependent on the specific test organism or system used. Discussions are ongoing regarding the mixtures to be tested in the next phase.
As part of the project, experts conducted an extensive review, sharing their insights on the toxicity of BPA alternatives and their presence in the environment. The article can be accessed here ↗.
The project is also advancing innovative methodologies aimed at replacing traditional vertebrate animal tests. This includes the development of high-content screening techniques using zebrafish embryos and the creation of 3D zebrafish spheroids.
Policy relevance
- Filled data gaps: Investigation of the toxicity of bisphenols in organisms belonging in different taxa, in some cases different than the ones required by the European regulation.
- Identification of safer than BPA bisphenols or other alternatives.
- Investigation of the effects of bisphenol mixtures
- Improved hazard identification: NAMs utilizing environmental models provide precise data on the ecological effects of chemicals across diverse taxa, enabling regulators to identify hazards efficiently without extensive animal testing.
- Ethical and sustainable practices: New NAMs reduce reliance on animal testing, aligning regulatory practices with ethical standards and global sustainability goals while ensuring robust environmental safety evaluations.
- New methods investigating toxicity for environmentally relevant models help better understand chemical risks that are necessary for the implementation of preventive measures and enforce regulations that minimize chemical risks.
Related Publications
Future monitoring and surveillance of the quality of the environment should be enhanced to include measurements of BPA alternatives and monitor their levels closely.
The biological activity has been studied for BPA alternatives, but in a non-systematic way and prioritising only a limited number of chemicals.
This study identifies the gaps for regultory purposes.
Bisphenol A alternatives are manufactured as potentially less harmful substitutes of bisphenol A (BPA) that offer similar functionality. These alternatives are already in the market, entering the environment and thus raising ecological concerns. However, it can be expected that levels of BPA alternatives will dominate in the future, they are limited information on their environmental safety. The EU PARC project highlights BPA alternatives as priority chemicals and consolidates information on BPA alternatives, with a focus on environmental relevance and on the identification of the research gaps. The review highlighted aspects and future perspectives. In brief, an extension of environmental monitoring is crucial, extending it to cover BPA alternatives to track their levels and facilitate the timely implementation of mitigation measures. The biological activity ↗ has been studied for BPA alternatives, but in a non-systematic way and prioritized a limited number of chemicals. For several BPA alternatives, the data has already provided substantial evidence regarding their potential harm to the environment. We stress the importance of conducting more comprehensive assessments that go beyond the traditional reproductive studies and focus on overlooked relevant endpoints. Future research should also consider mixture effects, realistic environmental concentrations, and the long-term consequences on biota and ecosystems.