ChemFORWARD Implements New Maintenance Process for Chemical Hazard Data
A significant step forward in maintaining data that is scientifically accurate, comprehensive, and representative of current research and best practices
DURHAM, NC, February 11, 2025 - ChemFORWARD, a science-based nonprofit that manages the Chemical Hazard Data Trust, today announced a new maintenance process for Chemical Hazard Assessments (CHAs).
The implementation of the newly developed Validity Guidance bolsters the scientific integrity of the Data Trust. It does so by ensuring CHAs in the repository remain complete and accurate for years following their initial completion and that the resources invested by stakeholders in the identification of verified safer chemicals will provide long lasting impact.
The Process
ChemFORWARD’s chemical hazard repository is populated by accredited toxicology firms and a rigorous peer review process. As the earliest CHAs in the ChemFORWARD Data Trust reach the five-year mark of initial verification, additional quality control considerations are necessary to ensure all CHAs are comprehensive, scientifically accurate, and representative of current research and best practices.
“The hazard profile of a chemical is effectively time-stamped with the state of the science at the time of completion, though data and methodologies are ever-evolving,” Chris Bartlett, Ph.D. Lead Toxicologist at ChemFORWARD.
To accommodate the changing landscape of available data, ChemFORWARD has developed a Validity Guidance process with two sets of guidelines:
Ongoing review for all CHAs every six months regardless of CHA age;
Robust review to be executed at the end of the initial five-year verification period and on an annual basis following the initial robust review.
The ongoing review will monitor changes to authoritative sources and GHS classifications, while the robust review will assess the CHA's completeness, accuracy, and consistency. This ensures that CHAs remain current, reducing the need for reinvestment and promoting data confidence.
The process also includes a data confidence assessment. Evaluating the CHA based on factors such as the scoring methodology used, data gaps, and new research, this review helps prioritize CHAs for reassessment and ensures that data is scientifically sound and reliable.
The Impact
“The quality of our data is central to the utility of the Data Trust.This new maintenance process ensures that our CHAs are scientifically accurate and comprehensive, while also identifying chemicals for which reassessment is a high priority based on new research and best practices,” Heather McKenney, Science and Safer Chemistry Lead at ChemFORWARD.
Sponsors and users of the Data Trust will enjoy immediate benefits including:
Increased confidence. The new process is a significant step forward in the timely maintenance of chemical hazard data. Updated information will be rapidly deployed via API and the cloud-based application so all users benefit from the most current information.
Prioritized investment. The maintenance protocol prioritizes CHAs for which reassessment is critical, removes CHAs which are materially incorrect, and extends the life of sufficient-confidence profiles. This allows precious resources to be spent on assessing new, potentially safer chemicals.
Return on Investment: Thousands of CHAs currently housed in the Data Trust with sufficient-confidence ratings will have their validity period maintained, significantly improving the sponsor’s return on investment and ensuring an ever-expanding dataset for users.
Improved Decision Making. Comprehensive chemical hazard data helps companies engage in proactive chemical management moving beyond compliance and restricted substances list while improving decision-making in the design and substitution phases of development. This unique data-sharing model improves access and empowerment of all users in the supply chain, big and small, while reducing complexity and expense.
About ChemFORWARD
ChemFORWARD is a science-based non-profit organization that manages a globally harmonized Data Trust of chemical hazard assessments. Our mission is to fundamentally change the way that chemical hazard data is created, maintained, distributed, consumed and financed to accelerate safe and sustainable design.
