UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC) has published an updated opinion and recommendations on the adoption of NAMs for assessment of chemical safety in the UK under a post-Brexit regime.
Key recommendations include:
- Adoption of a technology agnostic definition of NAMs based on an understanding of chemical modes of action
- Setting of criteria for NAMs to be considered within a progressive regulatory framework, beginning with criteria for their use in grouping and prioritisation
- Application of a Progressive NAMs Regulatory Framework that utilises NAMs for a wide range of regulatory applications as the certainty of the findings for hazard assessment increases. NAMs may already be used to support grouping of chemicals
to prioritise higher-tier testing - Establishment of UK centres of excellence and a UK national reference laboratory for the development and validation of NAMs to ensure the uptake of technological improvements within the government and private sectors
- Incentivisation of chemical registrants under UK REACH to provide NAMs data indicative of the modes of action of their substances to support the implementation of a “group first” approach to chemical safety assessment
UK REACH currently provides a legal basis for applying NAMs. This report finds that NAMs are ready to support improved UK chemical assessment. Strategic implementation of a NAMs approach within UK REACH and GB-CLP can significantly reduce, refine, and potentially replace the use of mammalian animals (the 3Rs) for chemical safety testing while improving hazard assessment robustness and efficiency. As a next step, a progressive framework for their integration into the regulatory process including a set of criteria for inclusion is required.
