Chemical Risk Assessment

Brett Lyons
Environment and Animal Health Group
 Environmental Risk Assessment
• Multi-disciplinary approach to the risk
assessment of organic and inorganic
chemicals in aquatic ecosystems.
• Fate and effects of natural and
synthetic chemicals in both fresh
water and marine systems (including
food chain assessments).
• Scientists actively involved in OECD
and other international test guideline
developments.
– Chair UK NC3Rs (Replacement, Refinement
and Reduction) Regulatory Toxicology
Committee (Ecotoxicology Working Group).
– OECD Endocrine Disrupters Testing &
Assessment Working Group (Ecotoxicology
Validation Management Group).
– OECD Validation Management Group in
Ecotoxicology for test guideline
development (Fish Experts Group).
 Environmental Chemistry and Fate
• Extensive analytical chemistry
capabilities for metals, nutrients,
organic chemicals and radionuclides,
including trace level environmental
analyses.

• Wide range of in-house specialist

facilities including GC-MS, GC-MS/MS,
GC-ECD, HPLC, ICP-MS and LC-MS/MS.

• The high quality of Cefas science is

reflected through accreditation
(including GLP, ISO, MCERTS and
UKAS).
Ecotoxicology and effects assessment
• In depth skills in hazard assessment of
chemicals using a suite of freshwater
and marine ecotoxcity tests .
• Tests include:
– In vitro assays (e.g. YAS, YES, CALUX)
– Acute invertebrate testing (e.g.
Daphnia magna OECD 202 and 211).
– Chronic partial and full life cycle
invertebrate assays (shrimps,
copepods, oysters, and sediment
dwelling organisms)
– Acute fish studies (e.g. OCED 203)
– Chronic and partial life cycle fish
studies including zebrafish, rainbow
trout and sticklebacks (e.g. OECD 210,
212, 215)
– Amphibian metamorphosis assay
(OECD 231).
 Environmental effects monitoring
• Environmental monitoring is a
valuable tool for environmental risk
assessment (ERA) and environmental
impact assessment (EIA).

– Field collection environmental

samples (from point source to ocean).
– Biological effects testing .
– Quality assured chemical analysis.
– Effluent characterisation (Integrated
chemical fractionation and biological
effects screening).
– Validation of fate effects modelling
data.
TIE (Toxicity Identification Evaluation): identifying
causes of toxicity in complex samples
Complex
mixture

Biological
analysis
Chemical
analysis

Biological
Fractionation analysis

Responsible
toxicant
Bespoke testing systems
The stickleback as a sentinel and model species

• Small teleost (easy to keep in the lab).

• Present all around the North Hemisphere.
• One of three species truly endemic to the
British Isles.
• Fresh, estuarine, and marine waters
• Well-documented biology.
• Complete genome sequence (US), bridge
the gap between model and sentinel
species.
• Unique traits/tools for endocrine
disruption research and OECD type
testing (early life stage, juvenile growth
etc)
 Linking biomarkers Spiggin assay
to behaviour (androgens)

Toxico-genomic platforms

Testicular pathology:
Intersex (ovotestis) Field monitoring
 Chemical risk and population relevant endpoints
Sebire et al., (2008). The model anti-androgen flutamide suppresses the expression of typical male
stickleback reproductive behaviour. Aquatic Toxicology 90 (1), pp. 37-47.
For further information please
contact:
brett.lyons@cefas.co.uk
jason.weeks@cefas.co.uk
tom.hutchinson@cefas.co.uk