ResourcingContributions to the resources needed to support the Network are welcome. These

may be in the form of in-kind contributions, such as information and technical expertise, or fi nancial support. Please contact WHO for further information.

Email: ipcsmail@who.int • Web site: www.who.int/ipcs

Department of Public Health and EnvironmentWorld Health Organization20, av. Appia; CH-1211 Geneva 27Switzerland

Design: Inís Communication – www.iniscommunication.com

Current ActivitiesThe Network is initially focussing on activities in four thematic areas:

• Capacity building and training• Chemical risk assessments/

sharing knowledge

• Risk assessment methodology• Identifi cation and communication of

research priorities

Activities underway include:

• Development of an online database of risk assessment training courses

• Update of the WHO Framework on Mode of Action

• WHO publication on identifying important life stages for monitoring and assessing risks from exposure to environmental contaminants

• WHO guidance on characterizing uncertainties and variability in hazard assessment

• A review of research needs identifi ed in WHO Environmental Health Criteria and Concise International Chemical Risk Assessment Documents

A GLOBAL COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

WHO chemical risk assessment network

WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network NewsletterNewsletter No.10: Winter 2017

Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health

New Network Participants• Centre for Health, Safety

and Environment, Cardiff Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

• Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea

• L.I. Medved’s Research Center of Preventive Toxicology, Food and Chemical Safety, Ministry of Health, Ukraine

• Poisons Information Centre, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, South Africa

Network Meeting Report 2017The report of the 2017 WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network Face-to-Face Meeting is now available. The report summarizes the meeting proceedings and highlights the activities and discussions of meeting participants.

www.who.int/ipcs/network/meeting2017/en/

WHO Chemicals Road MapThe WHO Road map to enhance health sector engagement in the strategic approach to international chemicals management towards the 2020 goal and beyond (Chemicals road map) was approved by the World Health Assembly in May 2017. The road map identifies actions to engage the health sector in the strategic approach to international chemicals management (SAICM) taking into account the need for multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation. These actions are organized in four areas: risk reduction; knowledge and evidence; institutional capacity; and leadership and coordination. Individual member states and other stakeholders can use the road map to identify areas of primary focus for engagement and additional actions. More information about the road map and the final version in all 6 UN languages can be found at: http://www.who.int/ipcs/saicm/roadmap/en/

Network Capacity Building StrategyThe WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network recently published the Strategic Plan for Enhancing Chemical Risk Assessment Capacity in Network Participants—Strategic Plan: 2018-2020. The Strategic Plan is aimed at increasing chemical risk assessment capacity among Network Participants and thereby strengthen environmental health decision-making. It operationalizes capacity building related actions of the chemicals road map, specifically actions to strengthen national institutional capacities to address health threats from chemicals and fill gaps in knowledge and methodologies in risk assessment.

www.who.int/ipcs/network/Network_Capacity_Building_Strategy.pdf

Risk Assessment Tools AvailableThe WHO Human Health Risk Assessment Toolkit: Chemical Hazards is now available in French and Spanish (though the external tools and resources referenced in the publication are still mostly only available in English). The Toolkit provides road maps to guide how to perform a chemical

risk assessment, identifies the information required to complete an assessment and provides key references and electronic links to international resources to obtain information and methods needed for an assessment. All versions of the Toolkit can be found at: http://www.who.int/ipcs/methods/harmonization/areas/ra_toolkit/en/.

Latest PublicationsIARC Monograph Volume 120 – Carcinogenicity of BenzeneThe latest evaluation of the carcinogenicity of benzene will be published in the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph Volume 120. The IARC Monographs identify environmental factors that can increase the risk of cancer. The latest evaluation of benzene (classified as carcinogenic to humans [IARC Group 1] since 1979) was undertaken to review the latest epidemiological and mechanistic evidence and to characterise quantitative relationships for cancer risk and for biological endpoints related to the cancer mechanisms associated with exposure to benzene. A summary of the evaluations has been published in an article in The Lancet Oncology, and the full Monograph will be published later by IARC at http://monographs.iarc.fr.

WHO Fact Sheet on ArsenicThe WHO fact sheet on arsenic has been updated. Arsenic is a toxic metal (especially in inorganic forms) which causes a range of adverse health effects. People are exposed to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic in many countries, through contaminated water which is used for drinking, food preparation and irrigation of food crops. Arsenic has also been identified by WHO as one of 10 chemicals of major

public health concern (http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/chemicals_phc/en/). The WHO fact sheet on arsenic has recently been revised to describe the latest conclusions on the health effects of long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs372/en/

Phasing Out Mercury-Containing Devices in Health CareMercury exposure from spills or broken equipment such as thermometers or blood pressure devices poses a health threat in health care settings. Governments made a commitment to reduce risks to human health from releases of mercury when they signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013. The Convention sets a phase-out date of 2020 for these mercury-containing devices. The WHO provides guidance in the report, Developing national strategies for phasing out mercury-containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers in health care, including in the context of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The step-by-step guidance discusses health system-wide strategies in four parts: developing a stakeholder engagement strategy; situation assessment and inventory; strategy development and implementation; and monitoring and reporting. This publication recently became available in French and Spanish.

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/259448/1/9789241508339-eng.pdf

Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining and HealthEnvironmental and Occupational Health Hazards Associated with Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) – is part of a WHO technical series to support implementation of the ASGM-related provisions of the Minamata

Convention on Mercury and related World Health Assembly resolutions. Recently made available in French and Spanish, the report is intended for health-care providers as well as regulatory authorities likely to play a role in developing policies that address the health and well-being of ASGM miners and their communities. In addition to covering ASGM-related environmental and health hazards, the report also examines training programmes, toolkits and guides that can be used by health-care professionals, who can play an important role in identifying, preventing, and treating adverse ASGM-related health effects.

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/247195/1/9789241510271-eng.pdf

WHO publications on mercury can be found at: www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury

Recycling Used Lead-Acid Batteries: Health ConsiderationsA new document – Recycling Used Lead-acid Batteries: Health Considerations – explains how recycling used lead-acid batteries can cause significant environmental contamination and human exposure to lead. The document provides information about how lead is released during recycling, how people are exposed, and the associated burden of disease. It further describes how lead exposure can be assessed and how lead emissions and exposures can be reduced. The goal of the publication is to inform health sector workers and policy makers on the issues and health risks of lead exposure from battery recycling to promote better practices to protect human health. A short summary document in 4 languages has has also been published.

The document is available in English, Spanish and French at: http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/ulab/en/