Researchers and project leaders from across the PARC partnership met in Paris to review major progress in human biomonitoring, environmental monitoring and exposure assessment studies, while defining priorities for the next phase of work within Work Package 4 (WP4). The annual WP4 meeting took place from January 20–21 at the...

In the context of preparing its roadmap to phase out animal testing for chemical safety assessment - a key priority for both ethical science and modern regulatory policy - the European Commission organised a series of three workshops to gain input from stakeholders. The second workshop, held in Brussels on...

Understanding how chemicals may affect brain development or brain function is a key challenge in modern safety assessment. A recent study presents Zebra_K+, a zebrafish-based experimental system specifically designed as a New Approach Method (NAM) to investigate potential effects of substances on the nervous system. Using live zebrafish embryos and...

New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) are gaining momentum globally as tools to reduce animal testing and improve the efficiency and human relevance of chemical safety assessment. However, despite strong EU commitment, their full regulatory adoption remains challenging. A recent paper developed within the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from...

A newly published study introduces a validated analytical method to support more comprehensive and reliable human biomonitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) — chemicals that persist in the environment and accumulate in the human body, posing long-term health and ecological risks. Developed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS)...

The European Commission’s Safe and Sustainable by Design (EC SSbD) Framework offers a voluntary, pre-market approach to embed safety and sustainability considerations throughout the full life cycle of chemicals, materials, processes, and products. By assessing safety and sustainability throughout the life cycle, the framework enables early identification of risks and...

A newly published EU-funded study presents a faster and more reliable way to measure traces of pesticides in human urine, helping scientists and public authorities better understand everyday chemical exposure. Published in the Journal of Chromatography A, the research describes a validated method capable of detecting small amounts of 23...

PARC has published a milestone report outlining how innovation in chemicals and materials currently includes safety and sustainability assessment, supporting the implementation of Safe and Sustainable by Design by considering to how and to what extent safety and sustainability are already implemented. The work contributes to the broader Safe-and Sustainable-by-Design...

PARC is organising a remote training course titled “Pollution and public health: Insights from chlor-alkali emissions and trihalomethanes in drinking water”. The course is scientifically coordinated by Joan O. Grimalt from the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) . The training is...

The Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) has published a new Concept Note on Suspect and Non-Target Screening (SS/NTS), developed within the Monitoring and Exposure work area, with contributions from the Innovative Methods team. The document provides scientific support to the policy positioning of SS/NTS approaches, which...

A newly published scientific study led by researchers involved in PARC provides important new insights into how exposure to chemical mixtures can influence skin sensitisation and the elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis, a common inflammatory skin disease affecting millions of people across Europe. Skin sensitisation and allergic contact dermatitis are...

PARC successfully delivered the remote course on TKPlate, EFSA’s open-access platform for toxicokinetic (TK) and toxicodynamic (TD) modelling. The 3.5-hour online training was coordinated by Jean-Lou Dorne ( European Food Safety Authority) and Keyvin Darney ( ANSES), both part of the team that developed the TKPlate platform. The course provided...

Starting in May 2026, PARC will initiate a new portfolio of strategic projects. These initiatives aim to further advance chemical risk assessment in Europe by integrating new approach methodologies (NAMs), developing advanced toxicological and exposure models, and strengthening the scientific basis for European regulatory decision-making. Together, these projects reflect PARC’s...

The European Union is entering a new phase in its chemicals policy with the forthcoming “One Substance, One Assessment” ( OSOA) Regulation, a major reform designed to streamline chemical risk assessment across Europe with initial discussions in 2023. After several years of preparation and political negotiation, the OSOA package has...

As part of its mission to strengthen Europe’s capacity to assess, monitor and reduce chemical risks, the Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) has completed a dedicated campaign of interviews with its Chemical Leaders, the experts guiding scientific progress across PARC’s priority areas. This series brings visibility...

While Data Management Plans (DMPs) are often perceived by researchers as an administrative burden or an afterthought to research activities, it is increasingly recognised that best research practice requires data to be made available to others. Crucially, this must be done with sufficient information on research context and provenance to...

The 4 th quarterly meeting of the International Board (IB) marked a productive step forward for the PARC consortium, with members aligning on key organisational and strategic priorities. Discussions focused in particular on the creation of working groups aimed at fostering a more harmonised flow of knowledge across PARC entities...

The Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) implemented within PARC has been activated for the third time since its establishment in November 2023. This request, submitted by the European Food Safety Authority ( EFSA) on 17 September 2025, addresses specific data gaps related to certain Alternaria toxins. The data requested are essential...

Recognising the rapid evolution of scientific methods, regulatory expectations, and the changing needs of the risk assessment community, a second PARC Training Needs Survey was conducted in 2025 to ensure that the second PARC training cycle remains relevant, targeted, and responsive. A two-step approach was followed: an institutional-level survey, distributed...

The PARC consortium has released the first data gaps report under its work package on hazard assessment, marking a key milestone in efforts to strengthen the scientific foundation for chemical risk assessment in Europe. The report compiles initial results from a wide range of studies on selected chemical groups using...