Department
Chemical Toxicology
The Department of Chemical Toxicology is one of the 5 departments within the area of Climate and Health at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
The discipline of toxicology is traditionally based on studies in experimental animals, but new approaches like in silico and in vitro methods are being developed and are already being used in the hazard assessment of chemicals. With the rise of artificial Intelligence technologies, it is expected that we can use this technology in order to make better use of existing data, for example in order to make hazard predictions. Systematic literature reviews that provide an overview of current knowledge and gaps in existing research and read-across assessments are tools used regularly within the department.
Advisory work
The main deliverable of the department is to give advice to the Norwegian authorities on the hazards of chemicals on human health in order to prevent health effects caused by chemicals. The Norwegian Environment Agency is the main receiver of our assessments and reports, mainly related to hazard identification and hazard characterisation of chemicals that are regulated under REACH and the setting of Health-Based Guidance Values (HBGV).
The majority of the assignments are related to Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of substances according to international guidelines, based on study reports provided by the manufacturer/importer of the chemical. CLP is a worldwide system to classify hazards of chemicals for various endpoints such as Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity and Reproduction toxicology. Recently it was decided by the European Commission to also introduce a classification for endocrine disruption hazards. For this classification work specialised knowledge on the endpoints studied is needed in order to conclude if an effect is adverse or not and if the effect is related to the treatment with the chemical. In addition, we work a lot in preparing documentation for EU restrictions on chemicals.
Experts from the department participate in working groups of international organisations like the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), WHO, IARC and OECD, and are actively taking part in WHO/FAO Joint Meeting on Pesticides Residues (JMPR), as part of the CODEX regulations. They also participate in expert groups coordinated by ECHA on genotoxicity, endocrine disruption, non-genotoxic carcinogens, and toxicokinetics. Members of the department are active in different panels of the Norwegian Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) working with food additives, contaminants and pesticides.
The department also advise specialists working in the municipalities in Norway on health hazards from chemicals found for example as pollution in the soil, products used in the outdoor and indoor environments of houses, schools and childcare centres. For example, we get a lot of questions on the rubber playground that are often found in childcare centres or the re-use of old toys.
Chemicals found in Personal Care Products or in plastics is also a topic that the general public are worried about, and that we can answer based on knowledge-based information.
Research
In order to give knowledge based advise, the department is performing research. This research portfolio is mainly funded by external funds, mainly the EU. Developmental neurotoxicology, immunotoxicology and molecular biology related endpoints are the main research themes in the department.
We have a prominent role in the Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) project working on developments of New Approach Methodologies (NAM) and summarising mechanistic data in Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOP) and closing data gaps on hazards of chemicals (for example mycotoxins). We are actively participating in EU projects around exposure to nano- and microplastics and the effects on human health (POLYRISK), the development of in vitro and in silico methods for hazard and next generation risk assessment (ONTOX), and the relationship between the immune system and the exposome (EXIMIOUS). We have several Nordic projects in the group, including the Comet in Germ cells project. Recently we were awarded a project by the European Food Safety Agency for further development if the Developmental Neurotoxicity in vitro battery. This battery is part of a new OECD guidance on developmental neurotoxicity.
The results of our scientific production is published in international, peer-reviewed journals.
Until recently we were part of CERAD, a centre of excellence for low dose radiation research, but currently the activities around radiation and Electron Magnetic Fields are closed down
We are giving lectures at different courses for toxicology students at the University of Oslo and for medical professionals working in municipalities.
Infrastructure
The Department has well equipped laboratories to work with human stem cell-based in vitro models, immune cells and liver models. Both genotoxic endpoints (for example the Comet assay and error free sequencing), transcriptomics, epigenetics (DNA methylation and microRNAs) and proteomics can be analyzed. We have in our laboratories we have advanced equipment like CyTOF (proteomics) and High Content Imaging.
In order to deliver advice and research activities we have a team of scientists and technicians. Scientists work in general 50% with advisory activities and 50% with research activities. The staff have a background in biology, toxicology, veterinary – and medical science, physiology and chemistry. We hope to expand the number of scientists with experience in modelling, machine learning and biostatistics. A number of PhDs, post-docs and master students are working in our laboratories. A high proportion of our staff has an international background.
We welcome both Norwegian and European students to work in our laboratories.
Emergency preparedness
The department has a role in the preparedness in Norway toward chemical incidents, focussing on possible chronic health effects. When needed, we assist other departments with our expertise on the effects of chemicals on human health, especially in areas like specific target organ toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenesis, reproductive toxicology, endocrine disrupters, effects of chemicals on the immune and neuro system to summarise hazards.
When the chemicals are identified that are released after an accident, we can give advice regarding persistence in the environment and in humans, the potential of bioaccumulation in the food web and in the human body and on toxicity. We can advise on potential health examinations that exposed people should take and help in the interpretation of the results.
We can of course assist with factual information to communicate risk to people exposed to chemicals.
It is important to realise that some chronic effects of exposure to chemicals and radiation might take 5-20 years to develop.
The department has worked with radiation related health effects for a number of years and can contribute with knowledge in the case of nuclear accidents with register-based studies.