Science in Risk Assessment and Policy

SciRAP (Science in Risk Assessment and Policy) is a web-based reporting and evaluation resource developed to facilitate and increase the use of academic toxicity and ecotoxicity studies in regulatory assessment of chemicals. The intention is to bridge the gap between academic research and chemicals regulation and policy.

Why is this important? There is overall a need to increase structure and transparency in the evaluation of (eco)toxicity studies for regualtory risk assessment och chemicals. Further, academic research studies are often given little weight as evidence in risk assessment. One reason is that they are considered insufficiently reported for regulatory purposes.

Intended use? The SciRAP resource is intended for regulators and risk assessors as well as researchers, reviewers and editors. SciRAP provides criteria for the evaluation of reliability and relevance of studies intended for regulators and risk assessors. The reporting guidelines are intended as a tool for researchers in the design, performance, and reporting of studies. The criteria presented here can also be used as a template in the review process for scientific publication to increase the reliability and reproducibility of studies.

SciRAP is a collaboration between the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, and the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet. Please contact us if you have questions or comments.

News!

We have updated the SciRAP evaluation criteria and color coding tool. Go to the evaluation pages for toxicity and ecotoxicity studies, respectively, and try them out! We welcome your feedback.

Upcoming workshop, November 15 - 16, 2016: ”Bridging the gap between academic research and chemicals regulation - the SciRAP tool for evaluating toxicity and ecotoxicity data for risk assessment of chemicals”. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.

Recent publications: 

Molander et al. 2016. "Combining web-based tools for transparent evaluation of data for risk assessment: developmental effects of bisphenol A on the mammary gland as a case study." J Appl Toxicol. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1002/jat.3363. 

Kase et al. 2016. Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating ecotoxicity Data (CRED): comparison and perception of the Klimisch and CRED methods for evaluating reliability and relevance of ecotoxicity studies. Environmental Sciences Europe 28:7. 

Beronius & Vandenberg. 2016. "Using systematic reviews for hazard and risk assessment of endocrine disrupting chemicals" Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders. In press.

Ågerstrand & Beronius. 2015. ”Weight of evidence evaluation and systematic review in EU chemical risk assessment: Foundation is laid but guidance is needed” Environment International. In press.