Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC)
PARC at a glance: EU Partnership for Chemical Safety
PARC – the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals – brings together over 200 partner organizations from 28 countries. This includes regulatory bodies from EU member states and beyond, relevant EU agencies involved in chemical risk assessment, and numerous leading research institutions and other organizations. Together, they tackle current and emerging challenges in chemical safety and work towards advancing the next generation of risk assessment methods. This aligns with the goals of the European Green Deal and the EU's Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, aiming for a toxic-free environment.
With the broad expertise of its partners from science, regulation, and policy, PARC is a flagship of European toxicological consumer and environmental protection. It is the first large-scale EU program with direct regulatory relevance, making it of particular importance for the future chemical risk assessment in Europe. For this reason, PARC has an explicitly regulatory focus. Data gaps should be filled, and open questions regarding human and environmental toxicology, as well as exposureExposureTo glossary, should be answered – with new data, insights, methods, and new competencies and networks developed within PARC.
The partnership, which is set to last seven years, is coordinated by External Link:the French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES).
Within PARC, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) is primarily involved in two work packages: "Hazard assessment" and "A common science-policy agenda." For more information on BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment's role in PARC, please see External Link:here. BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment also coordinates the German Expert Committee, External Link:the PARC National Hub, together with External Link:the German Environment Agency (UBA).
BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment's Role in PARC
Partnership
PARC brings together competent authorities from EU Member States and non-EU countries, other relevant EU regulatory bodies in the area of chemical risk assessment, as well as a significant number of leading research organisations and other organisations.
The seven-year partnership is coordinated by the External Link:French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES).
Objectives
PARC has set three main objectives to support chemical risk assessment and protect human and animal health as well as the environment:
- Goal 1 – Establish a sustainable, interdisciplinary network across the EU that identifies and aligns research and innovation needs. This network will help integrate scientific findings into regulatory chemical risk assessments.
- Goal 2 – Strengthen joint EU-wide research and innovation capacities focused on priority regulatory risk assessment procedures and emerging challenges.
- Goal 3 – Enhance chemical risk assessment by improving existing capacities and establishing new transdisciplinary platforms.
Work packages
To achieve these goals, PARC is structured into nine work packages (WPs) that collaborate closely:
WP1: Coordination and management
- Overall leadership and support for the partnership
- Scientific direction and implementation of annual work plans (AWPs)
- Impact assessment and performance monitoring
- Ethical framework
WP2: A common science-policy agenda
- Setting priorities
- Knowledge management and translating findings into policy
- Sustainability
WP3: Synergies, cooperation and awareness
- Stakeholder forum and international panel
- Communication and information dissemination
- Networking and fostering synergy
WP4: Monitoring and Exposure
- Human biomonitoring (HBM)
- Analytical lab network for HBM
- Multisource monitoring
- Innovative methods and tools for monitoring and data collection
WP5: Hazard Assessment
- Toxicity testing to address data gaps
- New methods and tools for toxicity testing and modeling
- Quantitative system toxicology and development of new AOPs (Adverse Outcome Pathways)
WP6: Innovation in Regulatory Risk Assessment
- Integrated approaches to testing and assessment (IATA)
- Integrative exposure and risk assessment
- Review and refinement of risk assessment methods
- Implementation of new methods in regulatory processes
WP7: FAIR Data
- Data management (including harmonization, interoperability, and exchange)
- Data libraries
- Innovation in data analysis and handling uncertainty
WP8: Concepts and Toolboxes
- Safe-by-design approaches
- Early warning systems
- Integrative models
WP9: Building Infrastructural and Human Capacities
- Laboratory capacities and networking
- Training and capacity building
- Joint activities for harmonization
- Education
PARC Websites and Additional Resources
For more information about the European Partnership PARC and related topics, visit the following links:
General Information on the PARC Project
Duration: 05/2022 - 04/2029
Funding Program / Funding Institution: European Union (EU) - Belgium
Funding Number: 101057014
Project Homepage: External Link:www.eu-parc.eu/