State of the Science for Bioaccumulation: An Integrated, Weight of Evidence Approach

Eco-NAMs Webinar Series Starts on 10 September 2025; State of the Science for Bioaccumulation: An Integrated, Weight of Evidence Approach

The Eco-NAMs Webinar Series aims to offer the most informative and up-to-date science on new approach methodologies (NAMs) for ecotoxicity assessments. Each webinar will consist of presentations by experts followed by a discussion. The webinar series will provide an open forum for scientists from academia, industry, non-government organisations, regulatory authorities, and other interested parties, including the general public, to learn about and discuss various ecotoxicity NAMs topics.

The first webinar in the Eco-NAMs series on the use of NAMs in regulatory ecotoxicology will cover NAMs in bioaccumulation assessment. The webinar will be held on 10 September 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT. Registration details and more information are available here.

The webinar will feature presentations by Dr Pippa Curtis-Jackson, Senior Specialist at the Chemical Assessment Unit, United Kingdom Environment Agency (UK EA), and Dr Michelle Embry, Deputy Director of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI).

Dr Curtis-Jackson will discuss the regulatory and industry acceptance of NAMs in bioaccumulation assessment. This presentation aims to provide a short history of Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) assessment, highlight the benefits and drawbacks of current practice, i.e., NAMs that are available but not routinely used, and spotlight evidence reviews commissioned by the UK EA.

Dr Embry will present an Integrated Approach to Testing and Assessment (IATA) for bioaccumulation to aid evaluators in the collection, generation, evaluation, and integration of multiple lines of evidence for clear and transparent decision making in bioaccumulation assessment for aquatic and terrestrial environments. Three illustrative case studies representing data-poor and data-rich chemicals will be discussed.

The Eco-NAMs webinar series will be held quarterly. Links to past webinars will be available at https://www.thepsci.eu/eco-nams-webinars/. The webinar series is co-organised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), HESI, the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES, Japan), PETA Science Consortium International e.V., the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this webinar series are those of the presenters and do not necessarily represent the official views or policies of the US government, the EMA, or the NIES. The US FDA, US EPA, EMA, and NIES involvement in this webinar series does not imply official endorsement of, or responsibility for, the opinions, ideas, data, products, or services presented.