ASPIS Open Symposium – towards animal-free chemical risk assessment

As Europe awaits crucial revisions of the European Union (EU) legal framework on chemicals management, ASPIS partners, a science for societal change cluster aiming to better assess the hazards of chemicals to human health and the environment without the use of animal testing, met in Sitges-Barcelona on 24-25 November, to discuss how to translate responsible innovation into actions for a sustainable chemicals industry and a healthy environment.

ASPIS (Animal-free Safety assessment of chemicals: Project cluster for Implementation of novel Strategies), a cluster made of the EU H2020-funded projects RISK-HUNT3R, ONTOX, and PrecisionTox, brings together more than 70 institutions across 16 European countries and the United States (US). “Delivering on a €60 million investment by the European Commission’s H2020 research and innovation programme, ASPIS will contribute to transform health and environment protection by providing new approach methodologies (NAMs) that can more reliably detect and mitigate the exposure to toxic substances” explains Prof. Bob de Water, from the University of Leiden, Coordinator of RISK-HUNT3R who led ASPIS work since its kick-off in 2021.