New European Network for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals

8.3.2022 8.54

News item

The EU is launching the Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals (PARC) programme that will form a competence network of chemical risk assessment. The Finnish parties involved are the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the University of Oulu, the Finnish Food Authority, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency.

The EU is launching the Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals (PARC) programme with a focus on chemical risk assessment.

The partnership programme will establish an EU-wide competence network to support risk assessment and risk management authorities with current, trending and future challenges related to chemical safety.

The PARC programme will develop shared and improved chemical risk assessment practices that can be applied in administrative chemical risk assessment.

“In a risk assessment, it is important to consider the combined effects of different similarly acting substances and combined exposures from multiple sources, such as work-related exposures and exposure related to nutrition and consumer products. This support also EU “one substance one assessment” goals,” says Research Professor Tiina Santonen from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, who specialises in occupational toxicology.

An additional goal is to improve the flow of information from institutions that carry out risk assessments to authorities and decision-makers. This supports the protection of the environment and public health in Europe. The programme also makes it possible to reinforce the public’s trust in organizations responsible for risk assessments and risk management.

The network will be launched as part of the Horizon Europe programme. The network consists of about 200 organizations throughout Europe. The project is co-ordinated by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES).

Activities in Finland are co-ordinated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and the partners involved are Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The University of Oulu, the Finnish Food Authority, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency will also take part.

“Having agencies and research organizations involved so extensively increases our national intellectual capital related to chemical risk assessment,” says Tiina Santonen from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

For more information, please contact

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health: Research Professor Tiina Santonen, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)30 474 2666
Finnish Food Authority: Research Professor Pertti Koivisto, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)40 481 1595
Finnish Environment Institute: Principal Researcher Jaana Sorvari, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)29 525 2159, Senior Specialist Emmi Vähä, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)29 525 1828;
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: Senior Researcher Panu Rantakokko, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)29 524 6395
Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency: Senior Officer Petteri Talasniemi, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)29 505 2104
University of Oulu: Professor Arja Rautio, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)40 585 5776.