Use of QSARs in International Decision-Making Frameworks to Predict Ecologic Effects and Environmental Fate of Chemical Substances
Mark T.D. Cronin,1 John D. Walker,2 Joanna S. Jaworska,3 Michael H.I. Comber,4 Christopher D. Watts,5 and Andrew P. Worth6 1School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, England; 2Toxic Substances Control Act Interagency Testing Committee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA; 3Procter & Gamble, Strombeek-Bever, Belgium; 4Product Stewardship & Regulatory Affairs, ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences Inc., Machelen, Belgium; 5WRc-NSF, National Centre for Environmental Toxicology, Medmenham, Marlow, Bucks, England: 6European Chemicals Bureau, Institute for Health & Consumer Protection, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, Italy
Abstract
This article is a review of the use, by regulatory agencies and authorities, of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) to predict ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemicals. For many years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been the most prominent regulatory agency using QSARs to predict the ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemicals. However, as increasing numbers of standard QSAR methods are developed and validated to predict ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemicals, it is anticipated that more regulatory agencies and authorities will find them to be acceptable alternatives to chemical testing. Key words: bioaccumulation, chemical substances, persistence, QSAR, regulatory agencies, toxicity. Environ Health Perspect 111:1376-1390 (2003). [Online 6 February 2003]
