Chemical testing in the 21st century: a primer

What is chemical testing in the 21^st century?  Why are new approaches needed for evaluating chemical hazard and risk?  How is the Environmental Protection Agency integrating these new approaches into its work to protect human health and the environment from harmful chemicals?  What are the potential public health and policy implications of these new approaches?  And, what is the role for the public interest community?

There are many important questions to be asked as new approaches are developed to evaluate the hazards and risks of chemicals.  EDF has created this online primer as an introduction to these new approaches, the opportunities and challenges they present, and the need for greater public engagement in their development and use.

Section 1: Why do we need new approaches for evaluating chemical risks?

Section 2: Introduction to high-throughput in vitro testing

Section 3: EPA's toxicity forecaster (ToxCast) program

Section 4: EPA's CompTox programs

Section 5: Potential of high throughput in vitro approaches

Section 6: Challenges and limitations of high-throughput in vitro Testing

Section 7: Advancing the next generation (NextGen) of risk assessment

Section 8: The need for a public interest perspective