Integrative Model Network

Integrative Model Network for Chemical Risk Assessment

Integrative chemical risk assessment plays a key role in understanding the health and environmental impacts of chemical exposures. A crucial step in this process is the efficient integration of models and data across various disciplines, including exposure science, epidemiology, and toxicology. This integration supports decision-making in both research and regulatory contexts.

Effective implementation of integrative risk assessment requires user-friendly workflows that harmonise and connect diverse modeling tools and datasets. However, the lack of standardised approaches, data harmonisation, and interoperability among tools poses significant challenges. PARC aims to address these gaps by developing a network of interoperable modeling tools and data resources that can be seamlessly used in workflows for chemical risk assessment.

The integrative model network is designed with long-term sustainability in mind. By aligning with existing initiatives, such as the PARC Chemical Risk Assessment (CRA) Hub and other potential external e-infrastructures, the network aims to:

support harmonised, scalable, and cross-sector integrative risk assessments across Europe, in alignment with international guidance and regulatory requirements such as GDPR, transparency regulations, and regulatory (e.g. EFSA, ECHA) methodologies, as well as NGRA approaches from PARC,
provide a structured overview of selected modeling tools and workflows suitable for addressing risk assessment questions
develop and operationalise user-friendly, generic workflows that can span multiple domains and link modeling tools and datasets to support complex integrative risk assessments,
enhance the interoperability and reusability of selected modeling tools to enable their efficientm practical implementation in integrative assessments,
foster cross-sector collaboration,
reduce redundancy in tool development and application.

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Iterative implementation and case studies

The development of the integrative model network ↗ follows a pragmatic, iterative approach, combining both bottom-up and top-down strategies:

Bottom-up: Practical workflows and model links are developed within PARC case studies, addressing immediate needs in integrative assessments.
Top-down: A general conceptual and technical framework for model integration is continuously refined based on insights gained from ongoing applications in case studies.

Current workflows include:

HBM-based risk assessment (including mixtures): leveraging measured exposures from human biomonitoring studies to support (mixture) exposure risk assessment.
Aggregate exposure assessment: combining exposure assessment models and toxicokinetic models to aggregate exposures from multiple sources and routes.
New Approach Methodologies (NAMS): tools that allow the assimilation of NAMs data for hazard metrics to be used in chemical risk assessment.
Quantification of uncertainty: developing approaches to assess and systematically propagate uncertainty across interconnected models and modeling tools.

Workflows and modeling tools

A model inventory is currently under development to improve the findability and accessibility of modeling tools and workflows within the model network. In alignment with the PARC CRA Hub, this inventory includes metadata schemas tailored to harmonise tool and workflow descriptions, enhancing their FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Sustainability and future outlook

By enabling transparent, consistent, and FAIR workflows, the PARC integrative model network ↗ is poised to become a cornerstone of modern chemical risk assessment, bridging research and regulatory practices through a shared, interoperable digital ecosystem. The current version of the model network features a curated selection of modeling tools that support various aspects of risk assessment. As the network evolves, additional tools and functionalities will be integrated to support a broader range of use cases and user needs.

All thematic areas

Risk assessments

Find out how we monitor chemicals guided by regulatory challenges both in humans and in the environment, observing different sources, chemical fates and exposure pathways.

Learn new approaches and methods of health assessment and provide data to fill gaps in knowledge on poorly characterised contaminants or new emerging hazards while promoting the use of innovative methods.

Tools & resources

Learn how the PARC Early Warning System helps protect your health and the environment by spotting harmful chemicals early, before they become a bigger problem.

Discover how the PARC Model Network helps make chemical risk assessment smarter, faster and more connected by linking tools and data to better protect your health and the environment.

Come to know how we are catalysing the shift towards safe and sustainable chemicals, materials and products to to minimize negative impacts on human health and the environment.

PARC is developing the Chemical Risk Assesssment Hub that will be a service to provide FAIR data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) to the different stakeholders.

Building infrastructure and human capacities

Get to know the European laboratories that belong to our existing network as well as the new recruitments in order to maintain and to strengthen monitoring capacities.

Check our mapping and cataloguing environmental (air, water/sediment, soil, biota, drinking water, food & feed) monitoring networks as well as the gaps and opportunities for future alignment.

Stay up to date on the latest trainings in the field of environmental monitoring and biomonitoring of chemicals to improve the overall quality of chemical risk assessment and management globally.

PARC has the ambition to make 70-80% of PARC-generated data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). This requires extensive technical development to provide the infrastructure needed, as well as training of FAIR implementers to support PARC partners and projects to implement the FAIR workflows being developed. Discover our progress in building FAIR skills and capacity here.

Check out how we work towards increased harmonisation of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) in chemical analysis and toxicity testing to ensure that monitoring and hazard data generated in PARC are reliable, consistent, and comparable.

Science to policy

We are connecting PARC partners and external stakeholders, from both the research and the regulatory domains, to apply the long-term visions of the European policies related to chemical safety.

PARC is inviting the whole community of professionals in chemical risk assessment in Europe and worldwide to share their knowledge and ideas on the PARCopedia platform launched in November 2023. PARCopedia is a not-for-profit, ad-free knowledge management and social media environment.

PARC will develop a series of strategic roadmaps guiding step-by-step to the uptake of innovative science into the regulatory practice of chemical risk assessment in the EU. The first one will be NGRAroute, an activity to implement Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) in all major legislations on chemicals in the EU.

See the Next Generation Risk Assessment in action for the benefit of human and the environment.

Explore how PARC’s Rapid Response Mechanism tackles urgent health and environmental challenges.