New Toxicology Evaluations

Thousands of chemicals in the environment have sparse or no toxicity data and it will take many years before public health actions can be effectively addressed. In this regard, OEHHA created the New Toxicology Evaluations Section (NTES) in 2023 to evaluate and apply New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to address the need for tools to assess chemicals lacking traditional toxicology data. NAMs include high-throughput screening tests, read-across methods, computational models and alternative species.

Diagram of four categories

This diagram shows four major categories. In vitro methods test cells or tissues outside the body. In chemico methods examine chemical reactions directly—for example, a chemical’s ability to react with proteins. In silico methods use computers, mathematical models, or information about chemical structure. Ex vivo methods study tissues removed from an organism. In practice, NAMs often combine methods from several categories.


Program Goals
Expert Panel on Emerging Risk Assessment Approaches

Collaborations
Publications

Events

2026 Fall Expert Panel on Emerging Risk Assessment Approaches Public Meeting
OEHHA is hosting a public meeting of the Expert Panel on Emerging Risk Assessment Approaches (EPERA) to provide an overview of OEHHA’s framework for conducting new toxicology evaluations and workstreams within the New Toxicology Evaluations Section.
Meeting date: Fri, 11/20/2026 - 09:00am - Fri, 11/20/2026 - 10:00am

Past events

New Tools and Approaches to Support Decision-Making in Inhalation Toxicology Workshop
The workshop focused on read-across methods and high-throughput tests to support decision-making for air toxics that lack traditional assessments.
Meeting date: Thu, 05/23/2024 - 09:00am - Thu, 05/23/2024 - 04:00pm
Toxicokinetic Tools for Decision Making Using New Approach Methodologies Workshop
The workshop focused on the use of toxicokinetic principles and models in applying new approach methodologies to chemical assessments
Meeting date: Thu, 01/11/2024 - 09:00am - Thu, 01/11/2024 - 04:00pm

Reports, Notices, Documents

List of New Toxicology Evaluations Publications
: Program Goals
OEHHA created NTES in 2023 to facilitate the development, evaluation and adaptation of NAMs for potential regulatory and non-regulatory applications with a focus on validation, applicability and characterization of uncertainty of these methods.
OEHHA is collaborating with academic and non-governmental entities in the NAMs space and contracted with research groups at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, UC Davis, Texas A&M Superfund Research Center, and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority to develop several new toxicological evaluation methods
The workshop focused on the use of toxicokinetic principles and models in applying new approach methodologies to chemical assessments
The workshop focused on read-across methods and high-throughput tests to support decision-making for air toxics that lack traditional assessments.