Whaley, Paul;
Halsall, Crispin;
Agerstrand, Marlene;
Aiassa, Elisa;
Benford, Diane;
Bilotta, Gary;
Coggon, David;
... Taylor, David; + view all
(2016)
Implementing systematic review techniques in chemical risk assessment: Challenges, opportunities and recommendations.
Environment International
, 92-93
pp. 556-564.
10.1016/j.envint.2015.11.002.
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Abstract
Systematic review (SR) is a rigorous, protocol-driven approach designed to minimise error and bias when summarising the body of research evidence relevant to a specific scientific question. Taking as a comparator the use of SR in synthesising research in healthcare, we argue that SR methods could also pave the way for a “step change” in the transparency, objectivity and communication of chemical risk assessments (CRA) in Europe and elsewhere. We suggest that current controversies around the safety of certain chemicals are partly due to limitations in current CRA procedures which have contributed to ambiguity about the health risks posed by these substances. We present an overview of how SR methods can be applied to the assessment of risks from chemicals, and indicate how challenges in adapting SR methods from healthcare research to the CRA context might be overcome. Regarding the latter, we report the outcomes from a workshop exploring how to increase uptake of SR methods, attended by experts representing a wide range of fields related to chemical toxicology, risk analysis and SR. Priorities which were identified include: the conduct of CRA-focused prototype SRs; the development of a recognised standard of reporting and conduct for SRs in toxicology and CRA; and establishing a network to facilitate research, communication and training in SR methods. We see this paper as a milestone in the creation of a research climate that fosters communication between experts in CRA and SR and facilitates wider uptake of SR methods into CRA.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Implementing systematic review techniques in chemical risk assessment: Challenges, opportunities and recommendations |
| Location: | Netherlands |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envint.2015.11.002 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.11.002 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s), 2016. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Risk assessment, Research synthesis, Environment, Chemicals, Systematic review, Toxicology |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Arts and Sciences (BASc) |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197301 |
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