EPA requests comments on draft policy on skin sensitization testing

On April 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft Science Policy to reduce animal use in testing strategies to evaluate chemicals for their ability to cause an allergic reaction, inflammation, or sensitization of the skin. “This draft policy is another step toward achieving EPA's goal of reducing the use of animals and increasing the use of cutting-edge science in chemical testing,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in an EPA Office of Pesticide Programs news release.
The draft policy is the result of national and international collaboration among ICCVAM, NICEATM, Cosmetics Europe, the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing, and Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency.
Comments on the draft skin sensitization policy can be submitted to docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0093 at  www.regulations.gov through June 9. The April 10 news release is available at https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-releases-draft-policy-reduce-animal-testing-skin-sensitization.