Long-Range Research Initiative
Global Research Strategy
Advancing Chemical Safety Assessment
for the 21st Century

Around the world, the chemical industry
currently faces multiple challenges.
Sound science is essential for
addressing these challenges and forproviding the basis for decision making
about chemical safety and innovation.

LRI MISSION – Linking Research to Practice and Policy
The mission of the LRI is to advance approaches for the scientific assessmentof the safety of chemicals and to improve our understanding of thepotential health and environmental risks. By fostering innovative research,
we implement critical initiatives that improve the information needed forscience-based decision making, build inter-disciplinary and international
scientific networks, and engage with partners around the world to linkresearch to practice and policy. The LRI program is tailored to adapt tochanging issues in chemical safety assessment, to improve consumer
confidence in our products, and to support our goal to be the leader inchemical safety assessment research.

Since 1999, the International Council of Chemical Associations’ (ICCA) Long-Range Research
Initiative (LRI) has supported high quality scientific research to address the demands of decision
makers and the public to better understand the potential impacts of chemicals on human healthand the environment.
The LRI is a global program implemented through three ICCA member organizations – theEuropean Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), the American Chemistry Council (ACC), and theJapan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA). Through the ICCA, these three regional LRI research
programs support complementary areas of research that target the science-policy interface toimprove chemical safety and reduce uncertainty.

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Looking to the future, the growth of the chemical industry in the Middle East, Asia, South America,and Africa during the past decade increases the potential for broader global participation in the
mission of the LRI program.

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Global Challenges to
the Chemical Industry
Implementation of Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation
and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in the European Union(EU) and of the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL) in
Japan…reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in
the United States...the industry’s obligations under the Strategic
Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)…
uncertainty regarding public acceptance of innovation from thechemical industry…de-selection pressures for chemicals.
Around the world, these activities are the basis for demands
from industry’s product stewards, those in governmental
and regulatory agencies, and the general public for highquality scientific information about the potential health andenvironmental risks from chemicals. These global activities also
highlight the critical need to advance chemical safety assessment
and the importance of the chemical industry’s investment in the
LRI. The LRI provides the industry with innovative approaches toaddress challenging issues that include:
Premature Use of New Chemical Testing Data
Recent developments in chemical testing technologies provide
powerful tools that can rapidly generate large volumes of hazard
data for chemicals. Interpreting these data to better understandthe potential health and environmental impacts of chemicals
remains a challenge. Premature use of these data by regulatory
agencies and non-governmental organizations to characterize
and prioritize chemicals could result in the development ofregulations and policies with significant economic costs yet
uncertain human health and environmental benefits.

Need for More Exposure Data for Chemicals
Currently in Commerce
Meaningful assessment of potential health and environmental
risks from chemicals requires not only hazard information but
also information about environmentally-relevant exposures
to chemicals. Making decisions about potential risks without
exposure data can result in unwarranted responses, such as
product labeling and product de-selection.
Increased Public Demands for Safe Products
Consumers are concerned about potential health risks fromchemical exposures that can occur in everyday life at home, atwork, and outdoors. Media reports linking chemicals detectedin the body to potential health effects have produced demands
from the public for more information about product safety. A
lack of sound scientific information about product safety canundermine public confidence in our products and may prompt
restrictions in their use or their removal from the marketplace.
Concerns about Animal Welfare

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Without innovative approaches that can reduce the needfor animal testing, the chemical industry will continue to faceconcerns about animal welfare. In addition, use of current
animal testing procedures prolongs processes for research anddevelopment and product safety evaluations as well as delays
time to market for new products.

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Global Research
StrategyThis LRI Global Research Strategy is designed todirectly address the current challenges faced by the industry
as it advocates for decision making about chemicals basedon sound science. This strategy, Advancing Chemical Safety
Assessment for the 21st Century, targets the science-policy
interface to improve chemical management and innovationassessments.
The strategy comprises three priority research areas that were
mutually identified by the LRI regional programs as key foraddressing the global challenges:
Innovating Chemical Testing
Understanding Everyday Exposures to Chemicals
Translating Research Outcomes for Product Safety
These three priority research areas and their value to thechemical industry will be described in more detail in the pages
that follow.

Our Principles
Scientific Excellence.
The best research proposals andmost qualified scientists will beselected for funding.

Transparency. Research
will be conducted openly, and theresults will be publicly available.

Science in Action
Through the ICCA, the three regional LRI programs
share common objectives, information, and experiences,while also targeting research on topics that meet the industry
policies and priorities within each region. This approachensures that the LRI research programs and projects among
the Cefic, ACC, and JCIA are complementary without
duplication and maximizes industry’s return on investment.
These LRI programs also support the objectives of Responsible
Care®, the chemical industry’s global voluntary commitment tocontinuous improvement in environmental, health, safety, andsecurity performance.
The goals of the LRI are to:
Coordinate research among the three LRI programs to advanceapproaches for chemical safety assessment
Support informed decision making and risk management
decisions by increasing scientific knowledge through research

Fair and Unbiased
Conduct. Potential conflictsof interest will be rigorously
evaluated.

Relevance to the Chemical
Industry. Research will address
priority issues of the chemicalindustry regarding the health andenvironmental impacts of chemicals.

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Extend information worldwide on the health, safety, andenvironmental impacts of the chemical industry’s products
and processes in dialogue with the scientific andregulatory communities

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Priority Research Area #1

Innovating
Chemical Testing
LRI research develops tools to:
Increase efficiencies for chemical testing and reduce animal use
Advance approaches for interpreting the data from chemical testing
Meet regulatory and industry data requirements

Research Objectives
New research tools, such as
high-throughput in vitro assays
and genomics, present exciting
approaches that have the potential
to link information at the molecularlevel to health and environmental
impacts and to revolutionize
chemical safety assessment.

LRI research advancesdevelopment of innovative
tools to provide critical data forrobust evaluations of chemicals
and new technologies, such as
nanotechnology, and advances
replacement of traditional chemical
testing methods that use animals.

Value to the Chemical industry

LRI research promotes proper
application of the new tools andappropriate interpretation of
the data to avoid identificationof hazardous but risk irrelevant
properties of chemicals andincreases public acceptance of
new processes and products.

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LRI research develops tools andapproaches that can reduce chemical
testing costs, time, and animal use as
well as facilitate meeting regulatory
data requirements. These tools also havethe potential to expedite design of newmaterials, products, and chemical solutions.

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Priority Research Area #2

Understanding Everyday
Exposures to Chemicals
LRI research provides approaches to:
Inform meaningful decisions about potential risks from chemical use
Generate data regarding environmentally-relevant exposures
to chemicals
Advance development of efficient product and process design

Research Objectives
Information about exposures tochemicals is critical for assessing
potential human and environmental
health risks and for informing
decisions about efficient design of
new chemicals.

LRI research in exposure science
fosters initiatives to develop
predictive models for estimating
environmentally-relevant exposures
to chemicals, supports developmentof novel biomarkers for chemicals,
and advances approaches forinterpreting available and new
human exposure data.

LRI exposure research can provide thecritical information link for appropriately
assessing the potential health andenvironmental risks from chemicals; thisapproach can decrease the likelihood ofdecisions based on hazard data alone.
Predictive models offer potential resourcesto efficiently and cost-effectively generate
estimates for consumer exposures and toaddress current exposure data gaps for the
majority of chemicals in commerce.

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Value to the Chemical industry

Exposure science is essential forevaluating alternative chemicals
and identifying chemical products
and processes that can reduce
negative environmental impacts.

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Priority Research Area #3

Translating Research
Outcomes for Product Safety
LRI advances research to:
Increase consumer confidence in product safety
Evaluate the scientific basis for links between chemicals, such as endocrine disruptors,
and adverse health outcomes
Improve understanding of potential risks from new materials, such as nanomaterials

Research Objectives
The LRI program includes
projects that extend beyond
basic research objectives andhave more immediate outcomes
and relevance to consumer
concerns about product safety
and to the effects of chemicals
on ecosystems.

Research includes new approaches
to evaluate whether there is ascientific basis for media reports
associating everyday exposures
to chemicals and human disease.

The LRI advances understandingof the potential health andenvironmental risks associatedwith new materials, such as
nanomaterials, as well as the
production, use, and disposal of
products currently in commerce.

LRI research represents industry’s
commitment to advance chemical safetyassessment and to increase consumer
confidence that new and existing products
are safe for their intended use. Increasing
consumer confidence can lead to greater
acceptance of innovation from thechemical industry.

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Value to the Chemical Industry

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Coordinating a Global
Research Portfolio

The three LRI regional programs each support research projects
within the priority research areas. These priority areas, which by design areinterrelated and interdisciplinary, provide an overall structure for the global
LRI program. However, the specific projects funded within these areas canvary from region to region and from year to year depending on industry
priorities, financial resources, and other drivers.
A clear advantage of this research diversity among the LRI regions is that it
adds both depth and texture to the overall LRI research program. The matrix
table describes specific research topic areas within each of the regional
programs that highlight this diversity within the three priority areas.

Innovating
Chemical Testing

ACC

Link information at themolecular level to healthand environmental impacts

Evaluate effects of cumulative
and aggregate exposures inreal life scenarios

Apply new populationrelevant concepts forecosystems

Support the 3Rs – replace,reduce, and refine – foranimal testing

Develop predictivemodels that incorporate
environmental stressors

Reduce complexity androbustly predict health effects
using pragmatic approaches

Incorporate exposure anddose information to advanceinterpretation of data fromhigh-throughput assays

Develop predictive models
for estimating consumer
exposures

Advance new approaches
to evaluate the scientific basis
for epidemiological studies
linking health effects tochemical exposures

Advance application of cellbased testing systems forchemical safety assessments

JCIATranslating Research
Outcomes for Product Safety

Develop and evaluate new
testing methods, such as
those that use stem cells,
to improve assessment ofchemicals and products
Innovate high-throughput
methods to evaluate large
numbers of chemicals

Improve interpretationof biomonitoring data forenvironmentally-relevant
exposures

Develop predictive andpractical models for
estimating worker exposures
Research health impacts
for groups with potential
chemical sensitivities, suchas the young and the elderly

Develop an innovative
framework that integrates
multiple data streams andfacilitates chemical safetyassessment
Evaluate the safety of new
chemical substances, suchas nanomaterials, for futuretechnological developments
Assess the effects ofchemicals on ecosystems
and the environment

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Cefic

Understanding
Everyday Exposures

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Communicating
Research Results for
Decision Making

Outreach and communication are integral elements of the
LRI program and are essential for translating the research findings into
information that can be used for science-based decision making. All resultsfrom the scientific research supported by the LRI are openly communicatedto the public, the scientific community, and government regulators througha variety of media approaches, including peer-reviewed publications,workshops, conferences, and the internet. These communication outlets
highlight the value of the LRI program and communicate a vision for new
policy approaches for chemical management.

Workshops
Annual ICCA-LRI workshops showcase
the global impact of the research supportedby the LRI. Since 2005, these workshops haveprovided dynamic forums that foster interactions
among industry and academic researchers,
governmental agencies, non-governmentalorganizations, and regulatory decision makers
regarding areas of mutual interest in chemical
management. The illustration provides a recent
chronology of the ICCA-LRI workshops.

Amsterdam,
The Netherlands‘09Charleston,SC, USA‘10

Stresa,Italy‘11

QuÉbec City,
Canada‘12

Budapest,
Hungary‘13

Santa Fe,NM, USA

Twenty-First Century Approaches to Toxicity Testing,
Biomonitoring, and Risk Assessment
Research, development, and application of the advances in new technologies for toxicity testing
and for biomonitoring

Connecting Innovations in Biological, Exposure, and Risk
Sciences: Better Information for Better Decisions
Harnessing recent developments in biological technologies to identify hazard and characterize risks
from chemical exposures

Integrating New Advances in Exposure Scienceand Toxicity Testing: Next Steps
Application of integrated approaches to link exposure science and toxicology for chemical management

Advancing Exposure Science to Improve Chemical Safety
Improving chemical safety assessment through innovations in exposure science

Technologies to Inform Chemical Safety Sciences
Potential applications and implications of new technologies for chemical safety sciences andemerging issues that may influence new developments

What is Normal? Implications for Chemical Safety Assessment
Understanding the intersection between chemical exposures and biological function that may
initiate early changes but also initiate adaptive responses that result in a return to normal
biological function

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‘08

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Global Management

Under the ICCA, Cefic, ACC, and JCIA have forged a coordinatedapproach that facilitates implementation of the LRI program with common
goals and principles. This approach recognizes the independent management
by each region as well as the diversity in scientific communities, regulatory
requirements, and societal issues among the three geographical regions ofEurope, the United States, and Japan.

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This global management approach also provides the opportunity to poolthe LRI’s diverse knowledge on critical industry issues and respond to public
and regulatory demands. Through its regional coordination, the global LRI
can identify and address future issues of relevance regarding chemicalsafety assessment.

GovernanceSteering Committee

The steering committee includes six CEO-level representatives, two eachfrom the Cefic, ACC, and JCIA, who oversee the LRI and report to the ICCA
Board of Directors. The steering committee monitors emerging issues related
to the global chemical industry and informs the ICCA-LRI Planning Group
regarding potential impacts for scientific research.
Planning GroupThe planning group comprises senior company and association managers
from the Cefic, ACC, and JCIA regional LRI programs, who provide support
to the steering committee as well as feedback to their organizations. The
planning group is responsible for program management, efficient delivery ofcontent, and dissemination of research results.

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