Green Toxicology: a strategy for sustainable chemical and material development.

Green Toxicology refers to the application of predictive toxicology in the sustainable development and production of new less harmful materials and chemicals, subsequently reducing waste and exposure. Built upon the foundation of "Green Chemistry" and "Green Engineering", "Green Toxicology" aims to shape future manufacturing processes and safe synthesis of chemicals in terms of environmental and human health impacts. Being an integral part of Green Chemistry, the principles of Green Toxicology amplify the role of health-related aspects for the benefit of consumers and the environment, in addition to being economical for manufacturing companies. Due to the costly development and preparation of new materials and chemicals for market entry, it is no longer practical to ignore the safety and environmental status of new products during product development stages. However, this is only possible if toxicologists and chemists work together early on in the development of materials and chemicals to utilize safe design strategies and innovative in vitro and in silico tools. This paper discusses some of the most relevant aspects, advances and limitations of the emergence of Green Toxicology from the perspective of different industry and research groups. The integration of new testing methods and strategies in product development, testing and regulation stages are presented with examples of the application of in silico, omics and in vitro methods. Other tools for Green Toxicology, including the reduction of animal testing, alternative test methods, and read-across approaches are also discussed.

Scientific Basis for Regulatory Decision-Making of Nanomaterials Report on the Workshop, 20-21 January 2014, Center of Applied Ecotoxicology, Dübendorf.

The key findings of a workshop jointly organized by the Swiss Centre of Applied Ecotoxicity, the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) are summarized and provide a critical analysis of the current regulatory framework for nanomaterials and a snapshot of some hot topics in nanoscience.

Sameness: The regulatory crux with nanomaterial identity and grouping schemes for hazard assessment.

Regulators and industry need clear rules for identification and grouping of nanomaterials for a streamlined quantitative hazard evaluation. Therefore, we provide convincing reasons for (i) why to introduce pragmatic definition of identities for nanomaterials, (ii) how to combine them into entities, and ultimately (iii) how the entities might be evaluated with testing strategies based on clouds of similar nanomaterials.

Scientific Basis for Regulatory Decision-Making of Nanomaterials Report on the Workshop, 20-21 January 2014, Center of Applied Ecotoxicology, Dübendorf.

The key findings of a workshop jointly organized by the Swiss Centre of Applied Ecotoxicity, the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) are summarized and provide a critical analysis of the current regulatory framework for nanomaterials and a snapshot of some hot topics in nanoscience.

Evaluation of the differential osmotic adjustments between roots and leaves of maize seedlings with single or combined NPK-nutrient supply.

Many physiological mechanisms associated with nutrient supply have been implicated as improving plant growth under drought conditions. However, benefits to plant growth under drought might derive from an increased recovery of soil water through osmotic adjustment in the shoots and especially in the roots. Thus, experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of the nutrients N, P and K applied singly or in combination, on the osmotic adjustment and turgor maintenance in the roots and leaves of maize seedlings. The seedlings were harvested between 18 and 37 days after sowing according to the soil matric threshold potentials. Soil matric potentials and shoot and root biomass were determined at harvest. Turgor pressure and osmotic adjustment of the leaves and roots were estimated by measurements of their water and osmotic potentials. Results showed that plants with either of the combined fertilisation treatments NPK or NP grew faster at a given level of drought stress than those with no fertilisation, N, P or K applied individually or the combined nutrient treatments PK and NK. Among the fertiliser applications with either a single or two combined nutrients, plants treated with any of N, P or NP grew faster than those with either K or NK. The association between the interactive effects of nutrients and drought stress on the osmotic adjustment and turgor maintenance in roots may partially explain the role of nutrients in drought tolerance of maize seedlings. In particular, the roots exhibited a higher osmotic adjustment than the leaves for all nutrient treatments, suggesting that shoot growth shows a higher sensitivity to water deficit compared to root growth. We conclude that the maintained turgor of roots under drought stress obtained with an optimal nutrient supply results in better root growth and apparently promotes overall plant growth, suggesting that osmotic adjustment is an adaptation not only for surviving stress, but also for growth under such conditions.

Temporal and local trends of PCDD/F levels in cow's milk in Switzerland.

Levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) were determined in 30 Swiss cow's milk samples collected at dairy farms in the vicinity to point sources, in rural/alpine areas distant to known sources, and from tanks in large industrial milk processing plants. The contaminant concentrations in samples collected in 2001 were compared to data from analyses conducted in 1984 and 1990/1991 at the same sites. In 2001, the PCDD/F levels in milk from farms near point sources (0.63+/-0.26 ng I-TEQ/kg milk fat) are slightly but significantly higher in than milk from remote areas (0.36+/-0.09 ng I-TEQ/kg milk fat). Consumer milk collected at the processing plants had intermediary levels (0.51+/-0.19 ng I-TEQ/kg milk fat). However, milk in 2001 was significantly less contaminated than the samples collected in 1990/1991 and 1984. This trend is particularly pronounced near point sources but is also apparent in consumer milk and milk from remote areas. No geographical gradient in the atmospheric input of PCDD/F in Switzerland was found. The reduction in PCDD/F levels in dairy milk is paralleled by and correlated to the remediation of known PCDD/F emitting industries, as enforced by federal authorities.