France has improved its environmental performance over the last decade, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, reducing some air pollutants and cutting its use of fresh water. Further effort will be needed, however, to reduce pollution by nitrates and pesticides and meet ambitious renewable energy targets, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals is a collection of about 150 of the most relevant internationally agreed testing methods used by government, industry and independent laboratories to identify and characterise potential hazards of chemicals. Every year new and updated Test Guidelines are adopted to meet the regulatory needs in OECD member countries. The most recent Test Guidelines were adopted in July 2016.

Participants from 15 countries attended the Workshop on Developmental Neurotoxicity: The use of non-animal test methods for regulatory purposes” on 18 October 2016, in Belgium. The event, co-organised by the OECD and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), focused on opportunities and challenges related to alternative methods for testing and assessing the DNT potential of chemicals.

Results of a joint pilot project of the OECD and the UN Sub-Committee of Exports on the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UNSCEGHS) including a report of the results of the pilot and non-biding proposed classifications for three substances.

The Decision-Recommendation on the Co-operative Investigation and Risk Reduction of Chemicals revises and replaces a 1991 Decision-Recommendation of the Council. The Decision-Recommendation is composed of two parts: Part A focuses on the development of harmonised hazard and exposure assessment methodologies for chemicals and Part B focuses on risk prevention and reduction.

This guidance document was originally published in 2012 and updated in 2018 to reflect new and updated OECD test guidelines, as well as reflect on scientific advances in the use of test methods and assessment of the endocrine activity of chemicals. The document is intended to provide guidance for evaluating chemical using standardised test guidelines.

Join us for our per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances webinar on Best Environmental Practices (BEP) for Textiles

This paper reviews and compares five case studies on quantification and economic valuation of benefits in cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) of regulating phthalates, mercury, PFOA (perfluoro-octanic acid) and its salts, NMP (1 methyl-2-pyrroloidine) and formaldehyde. The case studies had all been carried out as part of the SACAME project, and the purpose of the present paper is to draw out cross-cutting findings from these studies.

This document outlines various approaches and methodologies for the assessment of risks from combined exposures to multiple chemicals. The document draws from approaches and experience in the regulatory context, and presents elements to consider in the assessment.

The OECD releases a video tutorial on how to find GHS information in eChemPortal through the substance search and how to search by GHS classification. Currently 11 databases provide GHS information, independent of whether the classifications have undergone a review by a regulatory body or intergovernmental organisation or are based on self-classifications by the producers or importers.

The first report is a synthesis from a Workshop on Approaches to Support Substitution and Alternatives Assessment, which discussed approaches used to support alternative assessments and substitution. The second report is a Cross Country Analysis of Approaches to Support Alternatives Assessment and Substitution of Chemicals of Concern that describes a list of approaches developed across countries and by different stakeholders.

Today, OECD Council adopted the Recommendation on Countering the Illegal Trade of Pesticides to strengthen cooperation between countries and inspectors and identify illegal pesticides throughout their lifecycle with a Best Practice Guidance.

This report outlines the customisation opportunities for IUCLID version 6. It also gives an overview of what IUCLID offers to regulatory bodies and industry as a key application to record, store, maintain and exchange data on chemicals. IUCLID is used in a variety of countries and regulatory contexts, therefore the report describes to which extent it is customisable to facilitate the management of chemical data across these contexts.

On 11 February 2019, the OECD organised a webinar to learn and discuss new methodologies on liver models for induction, clearance and toxicity. The speakers presented the benefits compared to existing methods in place, the types of chemicals tested, the results obtained, the transferability and economic aspects for routine testing, and any known limitation to the technologies and their applications.

Nanomaterials have unique physical and chemical features. OECD's Decision Framework and Guiding Principles tools fill data gaps in the hazard characterisation by identifying the most useful parameters and best available methods for a given type of nanomaterial.

GHSTS is a standardised set of technical specifications for assembling electronic files for pesticide registration in a predefined manner. Once assembled according to the GHSTS, the dossier files can be transferred from a business to a regulatory authority and can be used in a regulatory process. Version 2.0 includes improved lifecycle management of documents over a series of submissions for one pesticide (or other) regulatory action.

Policy instruments can be applied to improve the sustainability of plastics, including regulations, market-based instruments, information and voluntary tools. The report reviews the use of these instruments, provides good practice examples, such as product taxes and charges, eco-design standards, extended producer responsibility and environmental product labels, as well as discussing opportunities for their future applications.

This report aims to enhance awareness for inclusion of children’s exposure in risk assessments when relevant and presents a children’s exposure decision tree that facilitates such decisions. The decision tree can be used to identify if a separate exposure assessment is needed with regard to children, and also aims to identify whether the exposure assessment conducted for adults already provides an acceptable level of safety of children.

On Thursday 26 September 2019, the OECD discussed "Finding Alternatives to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances of Concern: A Difficult and Continuing Challenge" with the participation of W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Presenters shared efforts, successes and challenges in eliminating per and polyfluorinated chemicals of environmental concern from the life cycle of consumer products.

The Chemical Safety and Biosafety Progress Report is released every eight months. Its purpose is to provide an update on the projects, events and activities. Information on new publications as well as dates and venues of upcoming events and meetings are given.

Kew may be 70 times bigger than the Physic Garden, but historically Chelsea is the mother ship

Too many poets have turned inward, speaking to their fellows rather than to the wider world

The story of Sisyphus compares quite well with the experience of zero-hours contracts

A country’s values come into focus when seen by an outsider, contrasting them with his native country

Caricaturist James Gillray was arrested over a print showing politicians kissing a new royal baby’s backside

Through this column, connections have been made and the conversation has broadened

Obama is seeking to scale back US global responsibilities without signalling a retreat

People seem to resign themselves to innovations they considered dubious at the outset

Former Obama adviser is just the person to explain the taxi-calling app’s ‘free-market’ approach

It would be wrong for charges against the Texas governor to be allowed through the courts

The conditions of managing this crisis are coming to resemble those at Chernobyl

From abortion to gay rights, he is unorthodox on Republican ‘values’, writes Christopher Caldwell

Whatever his short-term plans, Trump wants a radical tightening of US border policy

Sadoun: “This is how I work: I go fast, I take risk, I learn, I correct if it’s not good”

How the ride-hailing chief’s good-guy image is paying off

The chief executive on dismantling the FTSE 100 company and axing his own job

The Swiss agricultural chief is overseeing a merger with state-owned ChemChina

The man who invented China’s Singles Day eyes opportunity offline

Europe’s biggest activist investor shakes up management teams to unlock hidden value

The leader is a rare example of a foreigner running a German multinational

Former head of UK Sport has set sights on winning the World Cup

The dotcom entrepreneur who built Argentina’s largest company is now eyeing the banks

Casual familiarity triggers a sense of belonging and happiness in most of us and this in turn makes us more resilient

The capital is the cleanest, most orderly and safest bet for spending time in a global city

‘What does it mean if you can’t comment on a sector of society unless you’re part of it?’

While other countries spend a fortune attracting ‘influencers’, in Portugal it has happened organically

From Hawaii to Hampstead, the columnist answers readers’ questions

Two tall stories that take place up in the clouds, high above two dazzling Asian cities

Australia 5 Year Bond Yield was 0.42 percent on Saturday May 9, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Historically, the Australia 5 Year Note Yield reached an all time high of 6.93 in June of 2008.

Australia 2 Year Bond Yield was 0.25 percent on Saturday May 9, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Historically, the Australia 2 Year Note Yield reached an all time high of 7.25 in June of 2008.