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

New Network ProjectsNetwork Project: Assessing Immunotoxicity Risk Associated with Exposure to NanomaterialsNanoparticles interact with components of the immune system more than any other organ system in the body, and the potential effects of nanomaterials are not often tested for risk assessment purposes within regulatory frameworks. In response to this concern, the WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network has initiated a project to develop an Environmental Health Criteria document on ‘Principles and methods for assessing the risk of immunotoxicity associated with exposure to nanomaterials’. The publication will present the current state of the science of testing nanomaterials for immune system toxicity and will put forth strategies for assessing the risk for immune mediated health effects. WHO is convening a core group of scientists with expertise in the field to identify issues and scientists who can help address these. Technical leadership for the project is being provided by The WHO Collaborating Centre for Immunotoxicology and Allergic Hypersensitivity at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands. The scoping meeting for the project will be held in April 2015.

Network Project: Review of Chemical-Specific Adjustment Factors (CSAF) in Risk AssessmentThe WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network is convening a working group to review the strengths, limitations, and research needs in the application of chemical-specific adjustment factors (CSAF) in quantitative risk assessment. The work will be led by the WHO Collaborating Centre on Water and Indoor Air Quality and Food Safety at NSF International, assisted by a small drafting group. The group will review and summarize the state of the science since the 2005 introduction of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) guidance on CSAF and draft a manuscript that addresses the past 10 years of experience. The research phase will involve identifying examples of assessments where data-derived inter- and/or intra-species factors were considered or adopted. In addition to researching the published literature, examples will also be sought through a request to OECD member countries. Network participants will also be given the opportunity to provide examples. Following review by a WHO Expert Panel, participants in the WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network will also have the opportunity to review and comment before the manuscript is submitted for publication. The manuscript is expected to become available for review during 2016.

New Network Participants• Ghana Health Service, Ghana

• Research Institute of Human Ecology and Environmental Health, Russian Federation

• ECHA–European Chemicals Agency (Observer)

WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network NewsletterNewsletter No.4: February 2015

WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network Training Database The new WHO Chemical Risk Assess-ment Network Training Database is now “live” and open for population with available courses.  This database will allow users to search training courses (of a not-for-profit nature) related to human health chemical risk assess-ment. Courses can be in-person or online, post- or undergraduate and may include continuing education and society-sponsored courses. Included courses will consist of both general and advanced risk assessment methodolo-gies, as well as supporting topic areas and include details on, location, dates, and cost, and links to the associated organization.  It is intended that this database will be populated by various contributors, and Network participants are encouraged to submit courses to the database or contact the database administrator with suggestions for courses that should be included. 

To input courses and/or view the database, please visit: www.risktraindb.org.

Examples of courses recently featured in the database:• “Cancer risk assessment” –

Karolinska Institute, Sweden, 18-22 May 2015. In-person post-graduate training. Deadline for enrolment 20 March 2015.

• “Environmental Epidemiology” – Utrecht University, Netherlands. Online post-graduate course over 6 weeks in April-May 2015. Deadline for enrolment 30 March 2015.

Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health

SpotlightWHO Collaborating CentresWHO Collaborating Centres (WHO CCs) are institutions such as research institutes or parts of universities or academies which have been formally designated by the Director-General of WHO to carry out activities to support the work of WHO. WHO does not maintain its own research institutions, but instead benefits from the resources of national institutions which in turn strengthens country resources and enhances national participation in WHO’s activities. The work of WHO CCs covers a wide range of activities, including carrying out research, acting as reference laboratories or delivering training. There are also subject area networks for Collaborating Centres, including for Occupational Health and for Food Safety. A Collaborating Centre can be involved in multiple areas of work relevant to different WHO programmes.

WHO currently has over 700 Collaborating Centres in 80 countries, including 8 Chemical Risk Assessment Network participants. All WHO CCs agree a workplan with WHO, and those which are also Network participants agree to include at least one Network-related activity in their workplan with WHO. Some examples of activities delivered by WHO CCs in the area of chemical risk assessment include:

•A report was compiled on the role of the health sector in the safe management of chemicals, as a contribution to the SAICM strategy in the WHO European Region. The report was compiled by a WHO CC in the UK, working in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe. [www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/242660/Health-Chemical-Web_Final.pdf]

•An electronic distance learning tool on risk assessment and risk management of chemicals (the “eDLT”) was developed to support capacity building efforts in developing countries. The tool was developed by a WHO CC in Thailand working in collaboration with WHO HQ, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and international partners. [www.chemdlt.com]

Further information about WHO Collaborating Centres can be seen at:- www.who.int/collaboratingcentres/en/.

Call for CommentsJoint Workshop Focuses on the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) ConceptScientific experts from around the world met in Brussels, Belgium during December of 2014 to review and update the science underlying the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) concept. The three-day workshop, co-hosted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), is part of a broader project which aims to develop a globally harmonised tiered approach to TTC.

The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) is a science-based tool for prioritizing chemicals with low-level exposures that require more data over those that can be presumed to present no appreciable human health risk. The TTC approach integrates data on exposure, chemical structure, metabolism, and toxicity consistent with chemical risk assessment principles. In light of ever improving methods in analytic chemistry, more and more chemicals will be detected in our environment and our bodies at low levels. The TTC method provides a way to estimate potential human health impact to allow for a health risk assessment of new exposures in light of insufficient chemical-specific data.

The expert workshop was informed by a public stakeholder meeting of representatives from NGOs, industry, government, academia and consumer organizations.

The conclusions and recommendations from the expert workshop are available for public consultation on the EFSA and WHO web sites until 29 March. The comments will be taken into account by the expert group before finalizing the workshop report which will be published in late spring 2015.

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/chemical-risks/TTC/en/

Latest PublicationsChrysotile AsbestosThis publication is aimed at government officials who need to make informed decisions about management of the health risks associated with exposure to chrysotile asbes-tos. The publication brings together and summarizes the most recent authoritative evaluations performed by WHO and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The publication also reproduces a WHO short information document on the elimination of asbestos-related diseases, and addresses questions commonly raised in policy dis-cussions, specifically to assist decision-makers. Available in multiple languages.

http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/asbestos/en/

Dermal ExposureThis Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) series publication addresses dermal exposure to chemicals. It describes sourc-es and pathways of dermal exposure, models and tools to estimate dermal exposure and methods for dermal exposure prevention and reduction. Furthermore, the EHC introduces skin diseases associated with dermal exposure. This EHC aims to provide information to national regulatory authorities to assist in conducting health risk assessments and manag-ing the risk involving dermal exposure to chemicals.

Environmental Health Criteria Series, No. 242; 2014, 500 pages.

http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/ehc/ehc_242.pdf